Party Freedom

When Macalster College had a party themed "politically incorrect" and welcomed two guests dressed as a Ku Klux Klan member and an African American being lynched, protest ensued and the news spilled into major papers.
While it is true that the costumes were highly offensive, that was exactly the point of the party. By dressing in such a manner, the student are pointing out that the situation depicted, while true to history, is taboo in our society today. They were not trying to be hostile towards African Americans.
The president of the college officially condemned "activities of this type." What type of activities was he referring to? Events that challenged students to fight against society norms? Is his idea of a well-educated college student trained to think critically one who completes his education still fully embracing all the biases and bigotry in our world today?
The Associated Press article further cited a case in which a Johns Hopkins fraternity was suspended for displaying a skeleton hanging at a noose at its Halloween party. I don't believe that was called for. Many people have died from hanging, who's to say that particular skeleton was a lynched African American? Ghosts who died from hanging are scary. The point of the skeleton, I assume, was to serve as a decoration augmenting the mood for horror, not to make fun of the tragic history of race struggles down South. Suspending an organization on such an infraction seems to suggest a violation of the students' freedom of speech or at least an authoritarian administration seriously lacking in the spirit for fun.

Here are the Mac Weekly article on the incident and the Associated Press coverage.



Controversial party reviewed by College Harassment Committee
Theme of the party, “politically incorrect”
By Hattie StahlNews Editor
A party hosted by Macalester students on Tuesday, Jan. 16 is under investigation by the Macalester College Harassment Committee (MCHC). The costume party, themed “politically incorrect,” was hosted in one of the college’s cottages on Macalester Street.
A particular costume choice by two students caught the attention of Paul Maitland-McKinley ’09, president of the student organization Black Liberation Affairs Committee (BLAC). Maitland-McKinley learned of the party last Friday, Jan. 26, from an anonymous student who was present at the party. The costume involved one student dressing as a Ku Klux Klan member, with a second student wearing face paint to appear dark skinned. The costume also included a simulated noose, one end in the hand of the Klan-costumed member, the other end around the student with the blackface’s neck.
An anonymous student who wore the costume in question said the whole point of the party was to push the lines.
“I think that if I had sensed any hostility to what I was wearing, or had anyone appeared offended, I would immediately have taken it off,” the student said. “There was a variety of equally offensive costumes, and given the variety, the response targeted to one costume in particular is unfair.”
The party was hosted and attended by students who were back on campus early for various reasons. According to David Nifoussi ’07, who attended the party, it was a relatively quiet party that ended by midnight.
“Themed politically incorrect, that included anything that ranged from controversial issues to things that would be considered taboo in most situations,” Nifoussi said.
In a statement released to the Macalester community through a Bulletin Flash on Monday, Jan. 29, President Brian Rosenberg cited the theme of the party and noted that costumes at the party included negative depictions of race, religion, and gender.
“It is important to understand that the College condemns and will not tolerate activities of this type,” Rosenberg said in the bulletin announcement. “It is deeply disappointing that Macalester students would be so insensitive and demonstrate such a lack of understanding of the College’s values and mission.”
“That type of party alone will bring conflict on some level,” said Brittany Lewis ’09, Political Chair and Treasurer of BLAC. “Other costumes could be considered offensive to other groups.”
According to Nifoussi, unlike certain parties whose themes target specific groups such as red-light dances that make fun of prostitutes, white trash parties, or a pimps and hoes dance, this party theme was aimed at everyone.
Everyone who attended the party is apologetic to those offended, said a party attendee who wished to remain anonymous.
“It was a lighthearted atmosphere, with no hostility, and no one at the party seemed to be offended,” the student said. “I do think it’s a lot heavier to hear about the party after the fact. Not because of the party itself but because of the way the party was portrayed both in President Rosenberg’s statement and through the rumors that have started flying around.”
Hearing about the party as opposed to personally knowing the people involved changes the presentation of the party, according to Nifoussi. “These people [attending the party] weren’t trying to hurt anyone,” he said. “In a place where stereotypes and acceptance are so politically correct, it was a fun idea to try to go against that.”
“And I suppose we shouldn’t really be surprised at the outcomes,” he added.
After Maitland-McKinley learned of the incident, he informed other members of BLAC’s Executive Board, who called a meeting for BLAC members last Sunday, Jan 28. Lewis said she thought it was clear that some action needed to be taken in response to learning about the party.
“Breaking the silence is the first step in any issue,” Lewis said.
The first two steps taken, according to Lewis, were to speak with The Mac Weekly and to inform BLAC members and get their input.
“The purpose of saying anything to BLAC wasn’t to start a riot,” Lewis added. “When you leave Mac, you’re going to see worse things than this. You have to learn how to deal with small issues like this first. We can learn from this how to put our pains out there and make change happen, even if it’s on a small scale.”
The advisor of BLAC, Sylvester Gaskin, Assistant Director of Campus Programs for Multicultural Life, was present at the BLAC meeting. On Monday morning, Gaskin informed the office of the Dean of Students of the party, a step which, according to Gaskin, was following mandatory protocol.
“Finding out about [what happened], there was immediate shock and anger,” Gaskin said. “But then attention shifts to making sure information is correct as well as supporting folks who heard and are upset or may not understand the significance.”
Gaskin said his primary role, besides passing along any information he may discover to MCHC, is to support, challenge, and educate.
“People are going to come in and want to talk about it,” he said.
MCHC began an investigation of the incident as soon as it was reported to them. The MCHC process was newly instated last fall, and deals with any reported situations that could be construed as harassment, according to Jim Hoppe, Associate Dean of Students. There are four committee members, two faculty and two staff, who meet when an incident is reported to decide whether to pursue an investigation.
“The process works best if students trust it works the way it’s supposed to,” Hoppe commented, “Which is conditional on maintaining a high level of confidentiality.”
For reasons of confidentiality, Hoppe was unable to comment on specifics of this investigation.
http://www.themacweekly.com/articles/20070202/10994

Blackface, KKK costumes criticized
2 hours, 28 minutes ago
ST. PAUL, Minn. - A party that asked students to come dressed "politically incorrect" has prompted an investigation by Macalester College officials who learned one student was costumed as a Ku Klux Klan member and another wore blackface with a noose around his neck.
Students at the private school told administrators about the Jan. 16 party on campus.
"My initial reaction was shock," said Paul Maitland-McKinley, a member of the Black Liberation Affairs Committee, a student group. "I thought, this can't really happen on my campus."
A campus-wide discussion is planned for Tuesday.
"We hope we can start a deeper dialogue on ... why these types of activities hurt people and why they get the kind of response they do," said Jim Hoppe, the school's associate dean of students.
The student newspaper, The Mac Weekly, quoted senior David Nifoussi, who attended the party, as saying it was meant to be a satiric comment on "things that would be considered taboo in most situations" at the liberal school.
Macalester is the latest in a series of colleges to investigate student parties and incidents that have involved racial overtones.
Earlier this school year, Trinity College and Whitman College had parties where students showed up in racially offensive costumes or blackface. At Texas A&M University, students made a racist video that apparently was intended as satire, and a fraternity at Johns Hopkins University was suspended after a "Halloween in the Hood" party displayed a fake skeleton hanging from a noose.
The Macalester party was held a week before spring classes started and did not draw a large crowd, Hoppe said.
Macalester President Brian Rosenberg sent a statement to students, faculty and staff members condemning the offensive costumes and party theme.
"It is important to understand that the college condemns and will not tolerate activities of this type," he wrote. "It is deeply disappointing that Macalester students would be so insensitive and demonstrate such a lack of understanding of the college's values and mission."
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On the Net:
Macalester: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_re_us/storytext/macalester_offensive_party/21895891/SIG=10sk71n7d/*http://www.macalester.edu/
Mac Weekly: http://www.themacweekly.com/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070211/ap_on_re_us/macalester_offensive_party;_ylt=Amtg7d91XweKobqCQCB7.N5H2ocA