Bigotes or Bigots? Sorority Girls Dress Up As Mexican Stereotypes
These college girls dressed up as Mexican stereotypes, and now may face disciplinary action.
A few months ago, a group of sorority girls at Penn State played into a few negative stereotypes of their own, when they dressed up as their idea of Mexicans — decked out in sombreros, ponchos, and mustaches (or bigotes, in Spanish).
But the Nu Gamma chapter of Chi Omega didn’t stop there. Instead, the coeds came up with the idea to make signs, with the statements, “Will Mow Lawn for Weed + Beer” and “I Don’t Cut Grass, I Smoke It.” (A lawn-mowing joke? Really?!? )
The image, reportedly taken at a Mexican-themed party around Halloween, surfaced on social media late last week, according to the Penn State’s independent Onward blog. Jezebel also drew attention to the story on Tuesday.
Jessica Riccardi, the president of the Nu Gamma chapter of Chi Omega, told The Daily Collegian that her sorority was currently under investigation from the Penn State Panhellenic Council for the incident and released the following apology:
“Our chapter of Chi Omega sincerely apologizes for portraying inappropriate and untrue stereotypes. The picture in question does not support any of Chi Omega’s values or reflect what the organization aspires to be.”
This is hardly the first time that a white sorority girl or frat boy has dressed up as a member of a minority group. Just this morning Texas’ Baylor University students were called out by the Latino Rebels blog for also dressing up as stereotypes of Mexicans. Oh, and then there was when this sorority at The University of Texas at Austin dressed up as stereotypes of Mexicans. Oh, and this other sorority at the University of Texas also dressed up as stereotypes of Mexicans. You get the point.
Someone should let these ladies know (and anyone else itching to sport a sombrero, for that matter) that they’re allowed to get drunk and make bad decisions without doing the whole offend-an-ethnic-group, take-stupid pictures, get-called-out-on-the-internet, apologize-to-everyone charade. It’s kinda getting old.
