Earlier this month, UCLA’s chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon, the same fraternity that was removed from the University of Mississippi in 2014, held a “Kanye Western” themed party. Multiple sources stated that some students wore blackface.
So far, however, no pictures have provided such evidence.
What there is evidence of is male attendees of the party dressed up in baggy pants and “wife beaters” and female attendees with their clothing stuffed to mimic a buttocks like Nicki Minaj’s.
The way the students chose to dress is offensive and reinforces negative stereotypes of black people.
I also find it quite odd that the students chose to dress the way they did because Kanye West is very seldom seen in just a wife beater and jeans. He’s one of the biggest fashion forces in the hip-hop industry, with both a clothing and a shoe line.
The students could have dressed in a variety of ways, but the students chose to dress stereotypically “ghetto.” UCLA’s black student body protested the party and called for administrative action. In response to this, a UCLA first year student, Caterina Kachadoorian, wrote an article in the school’s paper, The Daily Bruin, in which she called the party “mildly inappropriate.”
She then went on to state the students’ upset feelings and their call for action was “offensive to people who have actually been victims of severe, violent racism.”
Caterina advises the students to address other issues such as “black on black” crime.
So, I say this in response:
I am angry and saddened by her words.
No one that isn’t black should be telling black people how to respond to microaggressions and racism, whether they be casual or violent.
No one needs to tell us — and I say us because this spans way further than UCLA — what to focus on. We can talk and raise awareness for issues affecting our community within our community and focus on other issues.
This conversation isn’t on black on black crime, and for Caterina to resort to that topic and derail the conversation is insensitive and idiotic, especially since most crimes occur between members of the same race.
So, if you’re a Caterina of the world, I urge you to attempt to understand the issues affecting members of other races when they’re speaking about their pain.
You cannot just put yourself in their shoes and write a piece on how to deal with race-related issues.
No one knows what it’s like being black in America, except black people in America. So, either educate yourself or at the very least, please, I beg you to be quiet.
Justina Greer is a senior Chinese major from Jackson.
