I have never received a more confused look in my life than when I tried to explain to my Argentine host mom today that, back in the U.S., my fraternity’s charity event was canceled by my college because the name “Phiesta” was deemed offensive to Latin American culture.
There is a well-known concept in free speech law that says that if the standard for banning a certain action or type of speech is the offense of another member of society, then we hand all decision-making power to the single most easily offended member of our society. This is the precedent that Greek Letter Organizations and Societies and the Office for Pluralism and Leadership have set with regard to the “Phiesta” cancellation.
For any readers who may not have paid attention to recent campus events, Greek houses Phi Delta Alpha fraternity and Alpha Phi sorority canceled the second annual “Phiesta” cardiac care charity event as a result of heavy pressure from administrators following the complaints of several students.
One of the most commonly circulated complaints stated that “mocking ‘Mexican Culture’ by drinking on Cinco de Mayo and prancing around in sombreros while consuming tropical drinks and eating burritos, is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.” Valid points all, and if these actions were to occur that could be a serious case for inquiry.
However, the statement must be considered in context of the non-alcoholic, charity event that both Phi Delt and A Phi planned to repeat for a second year, which does not coincide with or even reference Cinco de Mayo. It’s also worth noting, at this point, that last year’s event bore no resemblance to the cartoonish depictions of racism described by the complaints.
If not because of the misled offense of a tiny student group, the only other possible argument on behalf of the administration’s decision on this matter is that the fundraiser was not wrong purely because of the complaints, but because the theme was actually offensive in and of itself.
A closer look at what exactly the event was to consist of shows that this is ridiculous. The only two aspects of the event plans that can be reasonably interpreted as references to Hispanic culture are the name “Phiesta” and plans to serve virgin piña coladas and guacamole.
Exactly what standard do College officials mean to set by suggesting that this constitutes a valid reason to cancel the event? Should all events that feature puns in foreign languages be banned as cultural appropriation? Does the issue lie in the chips and guac, or are the menu and name each harmless separately, yet when combined somehow constitute racial insensitivity?
What we have here is an instance of well-meaning students trying to combat the very real inequalities and prejudice that still exist in America, but overeager in their desire to spot incidents of discrimination.
Social justice is still an important cause in 21st-century America, but brash attacks of this nature solely serve to alienate the majority of people from the root causes and cast the movement in a bad light. The way forward for Dartmouth is to be found in discussion and outreach from different corners of campus, not just attempts to castigate anyone who steps out of line.
The events of the past week could have gone very differently if, before filing numerous complaints with the administration, the dissenters had taken the time to discuss these issues with the event’s organizers, particularly with the several members of Latin American descent who played a large role in organizing ”Phiesta.”
We now have a system that encourages this sort of “gotcha” activism wherein the emphasis is not on understanding, education and discussion, but attempts to “catch” anyone who missteps in the maze of modern political correctness by, for example, giving a campus event a name that is a pun in another language.
Ben Hawley '16 is a guest columnist.
