UCLA Students Protest After Partygoers Wear Blackface at ‘Kanye Western

A New York City newspaper blogger assailed UCLA on Friday for investigating a Kanye West-themed fraternity and sorority party where students showed up in blackface, saying the university should be defending free speech instead of policing the campus for political correctness.

A few students wore black-face, wore baggy clothes, and padded bottoms.

A few Afrikan Student Union members stood outside the fraternity house Tuesday night and confronted fraternity members, asking them to end the event, Thomas said. They later complained to the administration.

Thomas and other black students took part in the midday protest at the Bruin Bear on the Westwood campus, calling the party racially insensitive.

According to The Daily Bruin, the presidents of Sigma Phi Epsilon and Alpha Phi did not respond to requests for interviews. “They just hide it behind frat/sorority themes, anonymous postings, and micro-aggressions”, she said on Facebook.

Other photos showed a group of female students with charcoal on their faces – in possible reference to Kanye West’s song “Gold Digger”. I don’t think that it’s everybody. A statement from UCLA released on Thursday reads, “We are concerned about these allegations and earnestly working to gather information about what occurred, talking to all those involved”.

“While we do not yet have all the facts, the alleged behavior is inconsistent with good judgment as well as our principles of community”, UCLA said in a statement obtained by the LA Times.

The university says it is investigating the matter and notes that students have a right to express themselves and comment on popular culture, but should be mindful of the effects their actions have on their peers.

A UCLA fraternity is the latest Greek organization to land in hot water for throwing a party centered around offensive racial stereotypes.

Hip hop website XXL reported that Sigma Phi Epsilon’s national office had temporarily suspended the chapter and launched an investigation. A statement put out by the Afrikan Student Union said that the black soot was meant to “resemble the complexion of African American people”.