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Halloween is coming, and all over the U.S., clueless students will go out in public with racially or culturally insensitive costumes to mark the occasion. Watch for the Facebook pictures beginning October 28. Someone will dress in blackface. White boys will don turbans and dress as "terrorists."
I'm actually looking forward to the gay Dumbledore outfits. I might do that one myself.
So, now would be a good time to approach your student newspaper and do a preemptive article encouraging students to avoid costumes that play to stereotypes. Have your fraternity and sorority leaders make announcements this week at their meetings that culturally offensive costumes will not be permitted at any Halloween-themed events. That sort of thing.
Inevitably, we will see articles in the national press the week of and the week after Halloween about some stupid guys dressed as the "Jena 6" with nooses. It's coming; mark my words. Or maybe some group of geniuses will dress up with "nappy headed" afro wigs and Rutgers jerseys. This will be followed by on campus demonstrations and claims by the young men that they were just trying to be funny. Unsuccessfully.
Halloween is a fun time, but the fun gets sucked out of it when people offend others with (what they believe to be) clever costume ideas. Spread the word now that people should avoid the temptation. We live in a world where photos fly around the nation on the Internet in minutes. You don't want your friends spending November receiving death threats and hate mail.
Personally, I'm off to Toys 'R Us to buy four baby dolls and four baby carriers. I'm going as Kevin Federline this year.
