Sisters of the Columbia University chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta are coming under some intense criticism for an Olympics-themed beer pong tournament they participated in recently. Instead of making fun of their American roots by dressing up like Honey Boo Boo or the cast of Duck Dynasty, the women chose to dishonor other nations by donning sombreros (Mexico), Heineken tank tops (the Netherlands), berets (France), “Kiss me I’m a famined potato” signage (Ireland), peace signs (Japan) and Jamaican flags (uh…Jamaica). Personally, I think the most offensive thing to take from this incident is that an Ivy League student thinks “famined” is a word.
It seems like every week we’re writing about a new Greek organization or student group who has appropriated yet another culture, offended a minority group, hosted a party with an ignorant theme or put on black face in the name of getting black out. The Columbia Kappa Alpha Thetas, however, didn’t really do any of these things. In fact, I think their party pictures (shown below) are actually pretty cute!
Do you remember when the Penn State Chi Omegas dressed up as Mexicans and held up signs that read “Will mow lawn for beer and weed” and “I don’t cut grass, I smoke it”? THAT was offensive. No bones about it. Those girls were cruel and played on stereotypes and went in for the cheap joke. The individuals from Columbia who participated in the Olympic-themed beer pong mixer by no means wore culturally accurate native dress to represent any of their chosen countries/teams, but the outfits they did assemble were harmless and not really all that detailed. The Mexican team wore white tee-shirts with Mexican flags drawn on them and sombreros. Last I checked, the sombrero originated in Mexico. The German team donned Oktoberfest lederhosen and some soccer jerseys. The girls repping Jamaica wore black leggings and shirts with the Jamaican flag on them (they were the bobsled team).
Not a single girl that I’ve seen wore blackface (the entire Jamaican team was white…and looked it). No one’s costumes implied that any culture was less-than or uneducated or impoverished. Perhaps I’m simplifying things or failing to see the grand offense that took place, but in the scheme of college theme parties, I think this one hardly registers on the raised-eyebrow scale.
I also think it’s worth pointing out that the Kappa Alpha Thetas were partaking in this beer pong mixer with the brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon and you hear no one criticizing those boys. And you know they were in costume, too.
Following this party coming to the attention of Columbia University Panhellentic Association, the following official statement was released:
The Columbia University Panhellenic Association fully recognizes the seriousness of the issue at hand and sincerely apologizes for any harm that these pictures may have caused. We are taking this matter very seriously and are working directly with members of the organization involved to address the situation thoroughly. We would like to stress that the concerns brought to light by this incident do not at all reflect the shared values of the Panhellenic community, or of Columbia’s greater Greek community, but rather the unfortunate and unintentional misjudgment of a few individuals.
Though it is our understanding that the photos were not posted with the intent to offend or alienate any group or individual, the Panhellenic Association would also like to emphasize that it does not at all condone behavior or language representing any form of cultural insensitivity, whether intentional or not. Moving forward, we will continue engaging in conversations and educational efforts with our chapters’ members and leaders to promote a strong understanding of, and commitment to, the diversity we so deeply value within the Greek community, on campus, and beyond. Again, we truly apologize for any harm the incident and photos in question may have caused and are actively working to rectify the situation, as well as to address the concerns of the community, to the best of our ability.
