Students Wear Blackface at UCLA Party

Abstract

The Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and the Alpha Phi sorority at the University of California, Los Angeles held a "Kanye Western" party. Some White students wore baggy pants and used blackface.

The Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and the Alpha Phi sorority at the University of California, Los Angeles held a "Kanye Western" party. Some White students wore baggy pants and used blackface.

Students held a protest at the office of the university's chancellor, shouting slogans such as "Black Bruins matter" and "our culture is not a costume." Jerry Kang, vice chancellor for the Office of Equity Diversion, and Inclusion at UCLA, told the student protesters that "it's one thing to suggest you are actually focusing on one celebrity who is African American, it's another thing to take it as a license to perform every attribute, every stereotype, every grotesque minstrelsy that you see."

An official statement released by the university read in part: "While we do not yet have all the facts, the alleged behavior is inconsistent with good judgment as well as our principles of community. We remind students that while they are free to celebrate in ways that draw on popular culture, their specific choices can cause harm and pain to fellow members of their community."

Activities of the sorority and fraternity were suspended as an investigation of the incident was launched.