Theme party provokes outrage

By Mary Georgevich

Janitors, female gangsters and pregnant women.

These were some of the costumes worn by students, including student-athletes, portraying Latino stereotypes at an off-campus birthday party on Jan. 29.

Photographs from the "south of the border" party were discovered by a member of the Multicultural Center, who then passed them on to Bernice Aguas, director of the MCC. They had been posted on Facebook, a social networking site that is popular among Santa Clara students.

Aguas said she was shocked when she saw the photos.

"I was speechless. I didn't even know what to think, feel or say," she said.

Among the students at the party were at least five members of the women's volleyball team, at least one member of the men's basketball team and at least one member of the men's golf team, according to pictures from the party. The party's host, also an athlete, is half-Mexican.

Basketball coach Dick Davey said he had discussed the party with his players, but he didn't think they should be "condemned."

"Surely, actions were inappropriate," Davey said, "but I don't think my basketball players endorsed that kind of action."

Davey and other coaches asked that their players not be interviewed for this story.

In an e-mail sent to the campus community on Friday, University President Paul Locatelli, S.J., said, "Both this party and these photographs were offensive to any of us with cultural sensitivity and wounded and hurt in particular our faculty, staff and students of Latino heritage and outraged other members of our campus community. The targeting and demeaning of any group is unacceptable."

Senior Liz Sandoval, co-chair of MEChA-El Frente, a Latino student organization, said she didn't even know that people knew about some of the stereotypes. "They were dressed as cholas," she said. "That's an old stereotype. It's weird that they knew it." She said a 'chola' is a female gangster, commonly depicted as wearing dark, full lip liner around the mouth.

There has been a strong response to the photos from community members and organizations.

"I was angry, said junior Eric Deanda, co-chair of MEChA-El Frente.

MEChA and La Communidad Latina both held special meetings to address the issue, while the MCC organized a silent march to Locatelli's State of the University speech.

At least 250 students, faculty members and administrators of many ethnicities gathered in support and walked through campus behind a banner that read, "In unity there is strength."

Supporters wore orange armbands and orange ribbons. Aguas said in her e-mail advertising for the march that orange symbolizes anti-racism.

"It's not a particular party, nor a particular person, but addressing the whole issue of having theme parties that reinforce negative stereotypes," Aguas said.

She cited other parties, including one in November 2006 with a "Fresh off the Boat" theme in which attendees were encouraged to dress as a new immigrant. At publication, pictures from that party were still on Facebook.

Lucia Varona, a senior lecturer in the Spanish Studies department, brought up the party in each of her classes after she found out about it.

"To me, this is a sign that we are not doing our job well," she said. "Something is missing in our classes that we haven't been able to help students unlearn what they need to unlearn."

Varona said she believes many students come to Santa Clara with "inherited" racisms. "It would be just natural to be racist if you don't have contact with diversity," she said.

Locatelli also addressed the issue in his State of the University speech.

"Recent events remind us that we are not perfect and that we need to be vigilant to create and maintain an environment that will foster a community of inclusive excellence," he said.

Sandoval said she was "disappointed" in Locatelli's speech. "He kind of excused it," she said. "He kind of brushed it off."

In his e-mail, Locatelli said that Athletic Director Dan Coonan and Jeanne Rosenberger, vice provost for student life, are looking into the party to determine if any students should go through the judicial process.

Rosenberger said the Office of Student Life is investigating conduct code violations, including "degrading language or actions, or any practice by a group or individual that degrades a student or employee."

Coonan said he has met with coaches about the parties and did not rule out sanctions against the athletes involved, though he hoped to focus on education as opposed to punishment.

"We need to see what happened and why it happened, and there's a need for enlightenment and education," Coonan said. "It suggests to us that some sort of training may be warranted."

Volleyball coach Jon Wallace said he told his players involved not to try to defend their actions, "just say sorry, and mean it."

One member of the volleyball team went to members of La Communidad Latina and apologized, according to senior Pablo Madriz.

Aguas and Varona said that education, instead of punishment, is their priority for response.

"First of all, we need to look at this as a symptom of something bigger," said Varona, "and we need to tackle it."

Varona said this issue should be kept in mind while developing the new core curriculum.

"I think there needs to be some education about diversity and cultural sensitivity, whether it's training or in the classroom, or as they're developing the new core curriculum," she said.

The MCC plans to put their February newsletter in bathroom stalls on campus to help educate students about diversity.

Aguas said she has spoken to Rosenberger about planning a community gathering, and she has received support from Jenny Moody and Julia Niles, Associated Students president and vice president.

AS is hosting a forum tonight, called "Orange You Curious? Theme Party Forum" at their weekly meeting in Benson Center's parlors.

The MCC and AS are also co-sponsoring a diversity chat called "Chain Reaction: Is ignorance bliss?" on Thursday, Feb. 22.

Editor's Note: The Santa Clara has chosen not to identify students who were present at the "south of the border" party because it was impossible to identify all students who attended. In the interest of fairness, photos have been edited to remove faces to avoid singling out individuals, as there were many more students at the party than shown in the pictures published inside.

Contact Mary Georgevich at (408) 554-4546 or mgeorgevich@scu.edu.