With Halloween approaching in two weeks, local stores are stocked full of costumes, leaving many in search of what to wear for the fun, spooky night.
In order to educate University of Idaho students, faculty and staff about culturally offensive costumes and deter people from wearing them, the Equity and Diversity Unit is hosting “Fright Night, Keep it Right: Don’t Mess Up When You Dress Up,” 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday in the Bruce M. Pitman Center Room 045.
The training is designed to educate university employees and students about costumes that are offensive, appropriative or damaging to certain cultures, said Vivi Gonzalez, UI Office of Multicultural Affairs program coordinator. All attendees will receive a certificate denoting their training.
Gonzalez said the event is important because in the past, certain campus offices or businesses have worn inappropriate costumes, not knowing they were offensive.
She said UI students saw the issue and reported it to the Equity and Diversity Unit, asking how the problem could be addressed.
Gonzalez said costumes — such as ponchos, sombreros or kimonos — that are supposed to represent a certain ethnic minority can have a detrimental impact on those specific communities because they perpetuate stereotypes.
Some local stores carry offensive costumes, she said, and it is affecting and offending UI students.
“One of the biggest problems is a lot of people don’t know why it’s offensive,” Gonzalez said.
Not only is there an impact that people can feel right away when seeing offensive costumes, but there is also a long-term effect, she said — it is important to recognize both.
Gonzalez said attendees will see videos showing people reacting to offensive costumes — videos showing people seeing their culture being used as a joke.
“Halloween is supposed to be scary or funny,” she said. “There’s nothing scary or funny about the way people dress or their traditions.”
Gonzalez said Equity and Diversity Unit employees want people to learn that peoples’ cultures and traditions are not costumes. They have some significance, which should not be imitated.
Gonzalez said she urges students to think about the diversity of their peers on campus.
“Think about how they live with some of these stereotypes on a daily basis,” she said. “They don’t get to take off their identity and put it back on when they want to.”
To prevent creating an unsafe or unwelcoming environment, Gonzalez said it is important for people to call out their friends for wearing offensive costumes and to call out stores for selling them.
“You can have fun without being offensive,” she said.
Jordan Willson can be reached at [email protected]