At the University of Texas in Austin, a fraternity president was forced to apologize for the behavior of its members after they wore racist Mexican costumes to what the fraternity insisted was supposed to be a "Western" themed party, the Daily Texan reports.
Andrew Campbell, the president of the Austin chapter of Phi Gamma Delta -- known colloquially as "Fiji" -- told the Daily Texan that the fraternity's annual Fiji Marshals party was supposed to be a "western-themed party which focuses on the traditional old West."
However, many of the attendees dressed as construction workers bearing hard hats with Latino-sounding names like "Pablo Sanchez" written on them -- and many of the decorations consisted of individuals in stereotypical Mexican attire.
In an email to the Daily Texan, Campbell wrote that "[w]e notified our chapter prior to the party via email that the theme was Western -- not south of the border or anything Mexican related. It was our intention to monitor and enforce this policy to the best of our ability."
Campbell did not indicate why the fraternity had been unable to "monitor and enforce this policy," but he did apologize for the extent to which it was violated.
"If any individual or cultural groups were offended, Texas Fiji apologizes for any insensitivity that our guests or members may have portrayed," he added. "It is never Texas Fiji’s intent to alienate or demean any ethnic group."
