An off-campus “ghetto beach party” held by Fairfield University students over the weekend has spawned major outrage at such blatant racism. This prestigious Connecticut University, which is about 60 miles north of New York City off I-95, has got the nation’s attention today, but for all the wrong reasons.
News Oxy reports on February 23 that students report how the people attending the off-campus party wore baggy pants and gold chains, which were racially based costumes. In the video above, the Fairfield University student who was interviewed didn’t attend, but heard that one girl dressed up as a pregnant woman with a sign saying something along the lines of , “whose your daddy?”
The student who gave the interview on the video above found it disgusting that students would do this. Joe Harding, who is a junior at Fairfield University, explained that when a party has a theme that students are expected to dress up in costumes reflecting the theme. For Saturday night’s party in Fairfield, Connecticut, the students dressed in a way that they understood what coming from a ghetto would look like.
USA Today reports that the Office Student Diversity and Multicultural Affairs has extended their hours to talk with students over this party. An emergency meeting of the student leaders on Monday night focused on a plan to deal with this incident, as well as investigating the party.
The president of the university, Jeffrey von Arx said in a statement to the Fairfield community that the theme “perpetuated racial stereotypes that have no place in our community and only serve to offend and devalue people.” He also said:
“Both within and outside the classroom, we have spoken to many of our students, and heard the personal accounts for how this incident has impact them. Their concerns go beyond the incident this weekend. To some within our community, this incident is symptomatic of conditions on campus that inhibit our many positive efforts to build a more inclusive, respectful and safer community.”
The university officials are investigating to “understand the details” of the student’s Ghetto party. The Jesuit and Catholic university is probably the last place you’d expect to see such a degrading example of racism.
It is a small college, with about 4,800 students in undergraduate and graduate studies. It is highly accredited academically, but beyond that, it is also a place that “deepens students cultural sensitivity” and they are “expected to be exemplary in their dealings with one another and with everyone in the community.” This was said in a statement released by the school.
The university expects to “take appropriate actions” once all the facts are known through the investigation the school started conducting immediately upon learning of this off-campus party. Fairfield University is one of the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the nation.
