"Ghetto Party' Backfires

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About a month ago, Fairfield University students decided to host a off campus "Ghetto Party". Obviously, the aftermath of the party was not pretty once word got out about the theme. Many students were outraged that students chose to participate in the theme of the party, some students put brown makeup on their face and perpetuated racial stereotypes as to go with the theme of the party. It hit close to home as offensive by the members of the community that were from the area and lived in the town over, Bridgeport, Connecticut, which is often considered the ghetto. However, some other students felt "neutral" about it and claimed it was harmless fun, like "dressing up on halloween". Fairfield University is a predominantly white university located in Fairfield, Connecticut; the University has never been a very diverse campus, 78% of the students identify themselves as white. In the past months the University has been working towards a more diverse community, they began offering a "Black Lives Matter" class that filled up quickly. Despite their efforts, after this controversy it does not seem that their attempts to diversify the campus are working as well as they had hoped.

Father von Arx sent out a letter to all students dressing the matter and stating that it is a sensitive subject to some students and that students should hold the utmost respect for their fellow students. He also stated how though this was an off campus party, the students are still held to the same code of conduct that on campus students are held to. Continuing, he said how this effected the their efforts to make the campus a more diverse, comfortable for all campus and how the students should have thought twice about their actions and the reaction it could have before going fourth with the event. The director of Urban Initiatives, Carolyn Vermont, claimed that it didn't come as a surprise that this had happened. The administrators at Fairfield University are taking this occurrence as a huge sign that they have much more work to do to get the campus to where it needs to be. 

If you want to read more about the event click here and if you want to read more on Father von Arx's letter and the effects that this had click here.