Meanwhile at UCLA, Sig Ep and Alpha Phi do Kanye & Kardashians
 

http://dailybruin.com/2015/10/07/stu...-themed-party/

"Sig Ep and Alpha Phi draw criticism after ‘Kanye Western’ themed raid
BY JILLIAN FRANKEL
Posted: October 7, 2015 5:10 pm

This post and headline were updated on Oct. 7 at 8:22 p.m.

Several UCLA student groups are asking the university to respond after the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and Alpha Phi sorority held a “Kanye Western” themed raid Tuesday night, for which guests dressed in baggy clothes, plumped lips and padded bottoms, or as “Kardashians.”

Kelsee Thomas, a third-year fine arts student and member of the Afrikan Student Union, said other ASU members said they saw partygoers with those costumes. Photos from the raid also show attendees with their foreheads covered in charcoal.

The presidents of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and the Alpha Phi sorority did not respond to several calls for comment. Student leaders of the Afrikan Student Union have asked the group’s general members not to comment until they meet as a group and release a collective statement Wednesday evening."

*click link to read the rest*

I had to check the calendar to make sure I knew what year it was. Why do people think this is okay? :(

It's all over the local LA news.
http://ktla.com/2015/10/07/ucla-frat...ial-overtones/

Ugh! Didn't like waking up to this at all. I have close ties to this chapter of Alpha Phi and I am so disappointed by this situation. First, UCLA greeks are big on playing dress-up for their parties and exchanges. A Kanye/Kardashian themed event isn't the problem. Girls or guys dressing up in baggy sweats and t-shirt (Kanye at the MTV awards) and girls padding their rear ends, wearing puffy lips, padded bras (yup, Kardashians), even the reference to the K girls being "gold diggers " isn't offensive. The problem is that some event goers got spray tanned to the extent that they looked not caucasian and others rubbed black stuff on their faces in mocking reference to being African American. Black face is disrespectful on every level. Where the hell was the leadership in these two very prominent UCLA chapters?? How and why could the older members and leadership of these chapters not anticipate what the ramifications would be? Did the social chairs of sig ep and alpha phi not set down ground rules (i.e.: no Blackface!!) . I don't blame the UCLA community for being completely outraged. Sig Ep and Alpha Phi better use this as a major major humbling learning opportunity--and they better do it quickly.

I agree BlueOwl. This was a year after the ASU-Black Party incident; did neither chapter hear of that before deciding to paint their faces black? Poor leadership from the elected house members and upperclassmen - somebody should've pulled the brakes before the event took place.

Don't chapters have to submit social events to their alumni board for approval? I am the head of our alumni board for one of our CA chapters and all social events must be reviewed and approved in advance.

At UCLA, they are supposed to. (I approved them for my chapter for 5 years as Social Advisor at UCLA.) But I've heard of chapters getting them approved (by Advisors and the Greek Life office) then CHANGING the theme to something they knew would NOT be approved.
Example: We had a date party with a prohibition theme, where guys would dress up as gangsters and girls in flapper dresses.
The day before the party, I got copied on an email (probably by accident) that since people were having trouble finding costumes, that the theme would be changed to "Anything Illegal".
My prompt response was if attendees dressed up as anything besides gangsters and molls, they would not be allowed to get on the bus. There was not going to be someone dressed up in all green to be "Weed" or someone dressed in all white to be "Cocaine".
That squashed many alternative costumes.

In reality, any type of theme party runs the risk of inappropriate costumes. Hard to control. I say do the ol' BBQ with picnic games.

Our events have to be pre-approved and our operations manual lists appropriate and inappropriate themes, but no list is exhaustive and I agree that theme parties can be risky when carried out by undergraduates. Like knight_shadow said, because "undergraduates, abdandon your national policies and do what you want is sure to work out well" (paraphrasing).

Standing by my original comments, but now am concerned that protests are getting out of hand at UCLA. If anyone is interested, google the Los Angeles Times. You can read about protests on campus today and see some pics. I also recommend pulling up the ucla sig ep fb page. They posted a very appropriate apology and explanation regarding the theme of the party. The many posts on their fb page are interesting too. Reflecting both sides of the story. No formal statement from APhi yet. Perhaps their Nationals is working on it? Sadly, individuals in Alpha Phi have received threats. The sorority house had protestors out front and girls were fearful to leave the house to walk to class. There is a police presence at the house tonight to keep the girls safe. The vast majority of the costumes were a pun on the Kardashian women--big butt's, big lips, big boobs-- so what? Big deal. some girls dressed like Kanye in his baggy sweats and they smudged Kanye's bead/goatee on their lower faces-- it was NOT blackface. Other girls dressed up as "golddigers" and smudged "dirt" on parts of their faces. However, there may indeed have been some students in blackface. There are no pictures of that that I can find.

Unfortunately, some people are looking for any reason to turn something like this into a hostile situation.

On a side note, hasn't this been a bad year for Alpha Phi? The video at Alabama, the song/chant at Iowa, and now this at UCLA? They're going to have an interesting annual convention.

Offensive...
 

I am sure that Armenian Student Association will be protesting as well.
After all, the Kardashians are Armenian.

All of those islander parties, are very offensive to those who come from islands; Hawaii, Fiji, the Caribbean. How dare people stereotype the island and tropical cultures with lays, flower, palm trees and grass skirts.

The Westerner theme parties have got to go too. Countless ranch hands, herders feel offended. What do a bunch of young college kids with cowboy boots know about The West? Senseless stereotyping.

80s parties?
I grew up in the 80s. So did several of you GCers. Who are party goers to mock my formative years? Yep, I am offended. Okay, as much as I loved my formative years, I am just so over the 80s.

Those gangsters parties that you speak of...well, as someone who had family way back then, well, I am offended. My family wasn't in the East Coast or where ever they were. But, I had family alive back then, so, I am offended. No. Not really.

I'm not cool with blackface, but I'm ALL for making fun of any Kardashian. :D And Kanye does need to be made fun of, too. It's not a race thing, but a he's-a-tool thing.

Oh, good another thread where white people make excuses for racist behavior.

I was just going to say...

Yes, there were people in blackface

Just out of curiosity...which costume was blackface, and which was racist? Of the ones we've seen surface, we've seen:

(1) Gold Diggers. It is a Kanye West song, and the girls dressed up as gold miners, with dirt smudged on their faces not because of race, but because they were dirty, panning for gold.
(2) A girl drew a goatee on her face, but did nothing to alter her skin color.
(3) One picture that has been floated as blackface appears to show two black students and a third with an artificial butt, but one that is clearly used to mock a specific celebrity (a white one at that) as opposed to a race.

Now if more pictures emerge (and I believe the UCLA association filing the complaint has alleged they will) then OK. We have a problem. Based just off the "offensive" photos that have been leaked, there is nothing that even remotely approaches blackface. Not even close.

Trust me, 95% of these articles cause me to bang my head on the desk because of the insensitivity and racism (or sexism, or whatever the case is). This one I think so far is grossly unfair to the men and women. They've been alleged of blackface, one of the most grossly insensitive acts out there, and yet not a shred of proof (thus far, I repeat) has been offered to prove that this actually happened. There is a very real violence of forcefully silencing the voices and actions of others. There is an equal violence of forcing voices and actions into people's lives that aren't actually there.

Point is, if these students are alleging blackface, there needs to be proof, that is how our system works. The burden of proof is on the accuser. There is absolutely none at this point.

And I repeat, if/when the additional photo that hold the proof of this racist action surfaces, obviously everything I've said is irrelevant.

Allegedly. There are no photos of this act yet. The ones being claimed as blackface are either facial hair drawings, "gold diggers" with dirt on their faces (a Kanye West song, and they dressed up as 49ers instead of the stereotype), and in one bizarre case, a woman that in my eyes appears to be actually black.

Most headlines are reading "UCLA fraternity and sorority members dress up in blackface" (read: not just, "dressing up for an insensitive party" even though I think the costumes thus far shown were not culturally insensitive) when there isn't a shred of concrete proof this happened. Does this not seem grossly unfair to these men and women, at least until the alleged photographic proof does emerge?

ETA: And like I said in the post above, 95% of the time when articles emerge about GLOs being sexist, culturally insensitive, etc I find the fault entirely with the member/organization. This is a rare case where I feel we have jumped the gun without any proof whatsoever.

I think this is a case where maybe it wasn't technically blackface, but the historical context should have been enough to dissuade them from doing it. Maybe they were dressed like 49ers - but, you are still talking about a song by a Black man and rubbing charcoal on your face and calling it a literal gold digger costume is still a bit iffy in terms of sensitivity. Because blackface IS a thing, and has a history of being used to exploit, appropriate, and harm the black community, I think extra care and caution should be taken to make sure you don't do anything that could be perceived as blackface. And, unfortunately, that didn't happen here. So while I agree with you that it probably wasn't intentional, I don't think anyone can really say that it wasn't insensitive or that others don't have the right to be offended.

I completely understand that blackface is a thing that has had absolutely destructive effects over many, many generations. When sorority members wear black face to dress up like Lil Wayne, for example, I am all for harsh penalties. I simply disagree that the 49er/gold mining costumes are anywhere near that league, or even remotely the same thing.

Blackface is always offensive. If somebody wears blackface to a high tea or a wedding or a sports game or a "Woodstock" themed party, we know it's offensive. It has nothing to do with the situation, although certainly some situations may prompt it more than others.

The offense to a gold mining costume is purely situational, and in fact it seems like many do not understand the situation. The theme was "Kanye Western"...ie, Kanye West meets country western. From instagram posts, some interpreted that fairly literally (ie, Kanye/Taylor Swift couples) and some took it more figuratively, hence the Gold Digging which is a reference to a Kanye West song AND a country/western trope that people are very familiar with (especially in California, where I am from).

So, by your argument, if it was a strictly western themed party this would not be offensive, or if the song was sung by a white man it would not be offensive. I can see asking people to be extremely sensitive to anything that could be perceived as racist. But clearly the intentions were far, far, far from there, and frankly I think the extreme reaction IS out of proportion. Keep in mind that this may likely have permanent consequences for these girls, none of whom have been proven ever actually wore blackface.

Do you see how wearing something that could maybe be construed as blackface if, and onlf if, you look at it retroactively (ie, not that you look at the photo and assume blackface, but your argument of "Well if I've been told it is blackface, I can make a leap that the song was sung by a black man and so maybe that is why") is completely and wildly different than wearing blackface, and yet news outlets are reporting on these women as if they wore the real thing? Do you not think that will have tremendous impact on their future?

Their faces were not painted fully. It was charcoal smudged here and there. The costume completely makes sense (and in an inoffensive way) given the Western nature of the party and the Kanye West song title reference. NOBODY would look at that photo and jump to "blackface" if it were not being labeled as such. It is so absurdly not blackface. People can be offended if they want, but these reactions are also hurting real people and I think it is completely over the top.

Now, if and when these alleged blackface photos surface, I will change my tune. Based on the evidence I'm seeing, this is wildly unfair.

ETA: A non-blackface costume that I would, for example, think is worthy of protest is if they interpreted Gold Digging by dressing in a general manner (not a specific celebrity) that negatively disparaged ethnic stereotypes of a gold digging woman of a different race than theirs. Dressing up as a specific celebrity without altering your skin color, or the Gold Digging outfits in question, are not remotely based on race. They are based on specific people and/or high concept. The argument that they could maybeeeee be based on race (even if that is not the straightforward/simplest/Occam's Razor interpretation) is wildly different than "these are clearly based on race".

This whole thing is absurd. Anyone who has the time to get butthurt about what we've seen come of this so far has entirely too much time on their hands.

Reading over this:

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...008-story.html

And reading quotes like this:

--especially in light of y'know.. the whole lack of blackface, is just absurd. Kanye West="black culture"? Are we really claiming that? Is every bit of music produced by a black person exclusively owned by "black culture" and only people of color are allowed to parody it without being pilloried? What in the damn hell. People have lost their minds. There are times to be outraged. This is not one of those times.

There's a point where certain causes and protests lose their focus, and also lose my support. The whole Black Matters protest interrupting Bernie Sanders is an example. The Occupy Wall Street thing is another.

Say what you want to say, then leave and go back to what you were doing.

This is just a case of a bunch of 19-20 year olds looking for some bullcrap to get outraged about and then some grown "journalists" trying to turn it into page views. Nothing to see here.

And how, exactly, were you "supporting" them previously?

So, African American protestors are offended that some sorority men and women mocked pop culture (Not black culture, POP CULTURE) by dressing up as Kanye, Kim, Taylor, Golddiggers, etc. Proof of blackface has not been confirmed as of today.

Well, here's all sorts of interesting stuff that is readily available on line and in stores such as Party City, Spirit, Diddams and more:

Big black afro wigs, some come with comb attached
Inflatable boom box
Rapper Circle Beard (shown on black male model)
Li'l Gangsta Dreadlock Hat
Gold tooth Grillz, chains, giant diamond studs, etc.
Warrior Native American with Tomahawk and face paint
Hustlah Fedora Hat with giant feather
Super Mac Daddy Pimp costume (on Black male model).

I also read in an article about how to not dress in an offensive costume that one should never wear a large afro wig (sorry Party City) because most African Americans no longer wear afros. But, it is perfectly fine to wear long dreadlocks if your costume is Bob Marley, because that was his signature look! Ok, mixed message there.

One more item I want to share. I read a news article online from last month. The United States Department of Agriculture is eliminating to use of the word "Midget" in reference to the smaller kind of RAISIN. These raisins will now be called "Small". The Little People of America petitioned for the change in an effort to raise awareness.

Gee, I sure hope those little raisins feel better now.

(Sorry my GC friends, please don't bawl me out. I couldn't resist)

http://cdn.totalfratmove.com/wp-cont...8d13da4eb2.jpg

It's coal on their faces because they're pretending to be gold diggers. In this photo they have gold on the plates so it looks like they've been gold digging.

I agree with others that 95% of the time the theme is the problem. But I genuinely believe this one was blown way out of proportion.

Just because these costumes are for sale doesn't mean they aren't offensive.

Oh good grief.

The charcoal smeared on the girls' faces was clearly not "blackface." This was a theme party parodying a couple of pop culture cartoons, whose fame is in large part (no pun intended) based on their cartoonish image. It seems to me that students who have ample backsides have more reason to be offended, but that wouldn't provoke protests, inflammatory headlines, or any attention from the admin. :rolleyes:

Habitually-offended people and/or groups who seek to find offense (or stretch the facts to create a situation that doesn't exist) do a lot more to provoke eye-rolls than further the cause they claim to represent.

What the university needs to be concerned about now is the harassment and threats targeting students who attended the party.

And meanwhile at UCLA, the Bruin Leaders Project has dozens of service outreach projects in place that actually do put boots on the ground toward social change. These won't incite protests or sensational headlines, and involve a lot more commitment than bitching about being offended by a Greek theme party, but these will actually matter next month:

http://www.bruinleaders.ucla.edu/soc...nge/index.html

Sig Ep and Alpha Phi are under social suspension (no social activities while UCLA is investigating).

2 Washington Post articles relating to this matter.

The last line in this article is my favorite:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...western-party/

This WP article is written by a UCLA Law grad. Too much law-speak for me to understand, but I think it states that the social suspension of both groups while the investigation is going on, is unconstitutional. (Kevin -- can you "translate"?)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...orority-party/

Interesting. I read it to basically say that costumes are covered under free speech, and therefore any punishment for the costumes would be a violation of the first amendment.

It is true that Sig Ep and Alpha Phi are on a very strict probation during the investigation. I heard that the Alpha Phi's are not allowed to gather even for Monday night dinner. Sadly, I have also heard (through a young alumni rumor mill) that several brand new members have dropped out. I also heard that members are still fearful to wear their letters around campus and the neighborhood because of the perception that they are "the racist sorority". I do have close ties with this chapter and from what I am hearing it is a pretty grim situation for this Alpha Phi chapter. UCLA has such a strong and active greek community, and Alpha Phi has always been a super strong chapter. This party was the very first mixer that the chapter had post recruitment! Naturally the new members and their parents have been stunned by the attention in the media and on campus. And the older members are heartbroken and frustrated.

I can confirm what Blue Owl wrote above. It's horrible that new members have dropped out. Recruitment ended less than 2 weeks ago and Alpha Phi is a very SRC.

Series of unfortunate events happening. First, the Pi Phi's tragic death. Then, the fraternity-sorority mixer with protests on campus. Tuesday, 1 block from campus, there was what police initially thought was a hostage situation at the apartment complex near the Target store in Westwood. It turned out an armed man had barricaded himself in an apartment, but there were police, SWAT teams, and blocked streets for several hours.
And it was the NEW apartment building for a couple of former roommates of the Pi Phi who was killed last month.

Thanks for the pic, Nanners. That's definitely not blackface. It's a lot less offensive than if they would have dressed as the actual kind of gold diggers kanye is talking about in the song.

Exactly. I honestly thought it was a cute idea and a fun play on words.

Translation: If these students and organizations want to sue the school, they are probably going to win. Last year, you may recall the University of Oklahoma expelling a few students and kicking SAE off of campus due to some racist basement songs. There was a consensus then that the school was not in their rights, but took a calculated risk, which in the end, may end up costing the university.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...he-university/

The fact is that schools are going to keep doing this until we fight back. Here's hoping these groups do not buckle to the university's bullying tactics and file suit. Schools don't have the legal power to punish this kind of speech, so they shouldn't even be suspending anyone pending an investigation.

That said, if the organizations' national HQs decide that this conduct is not represenative of their ideals, as private organizations, they can do whatever they want.

ETA: I really would encourage national organizations to push back on these issues. Protect your own spheres of influence. Act because that's what your values require, not because you are bending to the bullying of the host institution. Defend some of these actions on sheer principle. If a chapter holds an event where blackface is used, try a membership review instead of shuttering the chapter. Boot the idiots who don't uphold your values, but still give some value to the efforts of the hundreds of alumni/ae before them and the time, treasure and talent expended to achieve and maintain what that chapter was able to accomplish prior to some unfortunate incident. If the school punishes the chapter, haul their asses into court. You won't have a problem finding lawyers since in these cases, the school is going to be on the hook for attorney fees.

Oh, the grievance industry's main recruits are in academia...

Sadly, the girls probably thought they were being so pc by NOT going with the obvious stereotypes based on the song. I hope they can recover from this quickly. Black face would be unforgivably stupid, but this wasn't at all that (at least based on the one picture shown) and I think the girls probably even discussed how not to be offensive when they came up with this idea.

I actually agree with this. I think everyone has the right to show how classless, tasteless, and racially insensitive they can behave.

Nothing says NPC / IFC/ NIC like white kids mocking the cultures of others in the name of fun.

Right, let them be protested, let the newspaper publish editorials, publish their photos, let these things be published in social media and people be held up to public ridicule for any stupidity.

The line is drawn at government intervention. It's a clear line. Schools should know better.

Damn.. you actually said something somewhat insightful and civil and then this turd of a comment. What a dipshit thing to say.

What a dipshit thing to do to mock cultural norms of those not like you because you think it is a joke.