University of Texas TriDelts, Zetas, and ATOs Offend Easily Offended People with Fiesta Parties

Rob Fox13 years ago

From The Daily Texan:

The party, put on by UT’s Delta Delta Delta and Zeta Tau Alpha sororities, was filled with party guests wearing attire associated with Hispanic stereotypes, including ponchos, sombreros and fake mustaches.

…

Since the night of the party, word of the event spread to members of the UT community, who have expressed various concerns about the party’s intent and message.

The party’s “intent” and “message” are concerning people? I’m going to take a wild guess and say that the intent and message were “to get really fucked up” and “hey let’s all get really fucked up,” respectively.

While Greek parties sometimes do have an intent beyond blackouts and bad decisions, like the pledge slave auction my house used to throw to raise awareness for child sex trafficking, that “intent” pretty much never has to do with the theme. For example, “If It Ain’t Neon It Shouldn’t Be-On” parties have absolutely nothing to do with raising money for ecstasy addicts who can’t afford clothes.

Also, according to my well placed sources (i.e. a girl who DM’d me about this), the TriDelt/Zeta theme party has been going on for years, so I seriously doubt that this thing was underground until this year when a few drunks wandered onto Sixth Street wearing colorful ponchos.

Throughout the night, comments from downtown patrons could be heard throughout Sixth Street as they reflected on the partygoers’ actions and attire.

I was on Sixth Street that night and don’t remember hearing a single complaint, but then again I wasn’t surrounded by assholes.

Bilingual education junior Luis Juarez said he was offended by the party, especially because of the apparel donned by two of the party’s guests.

“For people to go out with shirts that say ‘illegal’ or ‘border patrol,’ that’s very insensitive,” Juarez said.

Okay, okay I’ll admit, that’s sort of offensive. Funny, but legitimately offensive. I assume Juarez finds it offensive because immigration is a serious issue and many Mexican families are torn apart, lose loved ones, or have their lives ruined because of it.

“It’s an incorrect picture, and I’m very offended personally. ‘Undocumented’ is the way to go about it because whenever you say that someone is ‘illegal,’ you are describing them as an action.”

Oh, it was the specific labeling that was offensive. So it would’ve been cool if the shirt said “undocumented” instead? Take note, mildly racist party goers, you can be offensive all you want, as long as you’re doing it correctly.

By the way I feel like there was a real missed opportunity here on the part of the Zetas attending the party. How did thirty of you not go to the party dressed as members of the drug cartel Los Zetas!?! You could’ve carried around machetes, threatened the party goers dressed as innocent Mexican townsfolk, and maybe even have brought a piñata made to look like a Mexican journalist and chopped off its head. You know, just your general Mexican drug cartel stuff. MISSED OPPORTUNITY! There’s always next year…well, probably not.

Rocio Villalobos, program coordinator for UT’s Multicultural Engagement Center, said the party shows cultural insensitivity and a lack of awareness of other cultures on the part of the partygoers.

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“I think this is an example,” Villalobos said. “It shows that there is a lot of awareness that needs to happen among the student body.”

Villalobos said she thinks the student body as a whole could benefit from initiatives such as cultural sensitivity and diversity training and a long-term discussion about racism and related issues.

The words diversity training literally make me sick to my stomach. I actually just rage vomited into my lap. Yes, that’s a thing, and I haven’t done it since Norfolk Sta… (*starts rage vomiting again*).

The words diversity training remind me of my days in the corporate world where the word “black” was so wildly offensive to the higher ups that you couldn’t even use it to describe the ink in your pen, let alone the new guy in accounting you wanted to recruit for the office basketball team. I think they had official meetings about using only blue ink pens so as to avoid the word black all together. If you didn’t put cream in your coffee they considered you a Level 2 racist at least. I used to watch black only porn on my computer during lunch just to reaffirm to them that I was a tolerant person. Don’t go corporate kids, ironically it’ll turn your soul black.

The only thing that’s a bigger waste of time than diversity training is, well, nothing. You know what’s more offensive than a racial slur? The fact that there are people that get paid (and when you’re a low level corporate peon, get paid MORE than you) to speak to you like you’re a fourth grader about shit you already know. I have seen with my own eyes diversity training coloring books…FOR ADULTS. At least when people are being racist they’re usually too stupid to be condescending. The only real thing diversity training accomplishes is to unite all the races of the world in a common hatred of diversity trainers. Wait, is that the secret genius of it?

Juarez said he also believes the student body would benefit from increased cultural training, but along with that initiative, he would also like to the see the sororities and partygoers apologize for their actions Thursday night.

“I feel like an apology is needed,” Juarez said. “I really think so.”

Zeta and TriDelt, don’t apologize. Please don’t. I know you’re probably going to have to, and I know some of you might have to sit through diversity training, and in that case my thoughts and prayers go out to you and your families, but if you can at all avoid it apologizing, AVOID IT. You know why? Because fuck what other people think. Holy shit, you wore sombreros and ponchos! You looked like the walls of a Chevy’s. HOW OFFENSIVE!

If a bunch of GDIs threw a Greek themed party where they all wore popped collars and had a jugs full of a beverage that they called “Rape Juice,” would we care? We shouldn’t. I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t give a fuck. If someone threw a Catholic themed party, where the girls dressed up like sexy nuns and school girls and the guys dressed as priests and made molestation jokes, as a Catholic I could again not give any less of a fuck. No fucks to give here. People have a right to be assholes. Just because I don’t agree with their mildly offensive behavior doesn’t mean I need to bitch and moan until I get an insincere apology.

The TriDelt and Zeta fiesta party isn’t the only Mexican themed party raising concerns among the portion of the UT student population with too much time on their hands. The ATO chapter at UT recently had to rebrand its “Alpha Tau Omega Presents Fiestau” party after complaints arose around a Facebook event page for the party. Apparently the party featured an event called “A Border to Cross,” which would have a border demarcation between the “Texas” side and “Mexico” side of the party.

…the fraternity planned to build an obstacle in the middle of the party to represent the border between the U.S. and Mexico, Nick Davis, petroleum engineering sophomore and co-organizer of the event’s Facebook page, said.

“Party guests would then have to cross that obstacle to get from the ‘Texas side’ of the party to the ‘Mexico side,’” he said.

…

“I mean, we’re going to have a Mexican side and a Texas side, with Mexican-themed drinks and then Texas-themed drinks,” he said. “We’re going to have a Mexican flag hanging up and kind of have a little party on the Mexican side. Then the band will be on the Texas side, and you can choose where you want to hang out, what kind of drink you want to get. That’s really the only reason we have that side.”

So it’s a “Shots Around the World” party but with only Texas and Mexico? If they threw Canada on the other side and served Molson would this cease to be offensive? HOW MANY COUNTRIES AND BORDERS DO THERE NEED TO BE!?! There has got to be better shit to complain about than this. I mean, did you SEE that Packers-Seahawks game?!?

Bilingual education junior Luis Juarez said he cannot describe how offended he is over the “a border to cross” event.

“I’m honestly speechless right now,” he said. “It’s totally negative, because they don’t know what people go through whenever they cross the border. For them to be having an event of that manner, I don’t even know. I’m outraged.”

Dude, David Maly, seriously find someone else to quote. Stop calling your one Mexican friend and getting stock “I’m offended” lines.

Here’s the bottom line: wearing sombreros and ponchos is not offensive. It’s just not. It’s harmless. The border stuff is midly offensive, but again, people have a right to act like assholes. You want to know what their punishment for that is? People will remember them and say “Oh, there goes that asshole, fuck that guy.” That’s how things work. Being forced to apologize and potentially sit through a lecture that’s less relevant to your everyday life than one in a “Harry Potter and Modern Religion” class accomplishes nothing and actually fosters resentment.

Instead of all that I highly encourage a Latino student group to throw a “Wine and Cheese” party where they all dress like stereotypical white people and pound Franzia (but please, not in your butts). Then we can all just laugh about this and force diversity trainers to get real jobs.

[h/t to @Sratthatbass, @FonzoHL]

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