Say No Ethnic Costumes, Say No to Racism

By Noelle Rajiv Opinion Editor The Pawprint 

Hmm… what should I be for Halloween this year? How about a fairy? Or a pirate? Oh, I know! I’m going to be a black convict!What was actress Julianne Hough thinking when she decided to paint her face black and step out on a public platform like that? Unfortunately, this is nothing new. People make these kinds of unwise decisions all the time, disregarding the emotions and feelings of others. In an attempt to be creative and gain attention, people lose sense of what is acceptable and what is not. So, is it okay to dress up in such a manner, knowing that it may be insulting to an entire race of people? Or is it the tradition of dressing up for Halloween just being abused? The Pawprint tells you what students have to say.

Although people are popularly known to dress up as Native Americans for Halloween, lately this idea has been taken to too far an extreme showing how racially insensitive people have become. “[Hough] shouldn’t be doing that specifically because stars have a really big influence on people and with this she’s basically calling black people scary,” said Junior Justin Kempes on this issue. An act of this kind reflects poorly on one’s character, as it shows that they couldn’t care less about others. “I think it’s just really stupid of people to dress up in a manner that may be offensive to other people. This just makes just them look careless and really ridiculous,” said Junior Yuzhang Ye. This is a very controversial topic and living in an international environment, it is a constant struggle for students to ensure that their actions are not insulting to anybody.

“I guess people have the choice to dress as whatever and whoever they want, as long as they do not offend anyone with what they are wearing,” said Junior Marielle Exconde. Living in the UAE, although residents are given relative freedom to dress the way they want to, they still need to conduct themselves in a way that is culturally respectful. So whether it is Halloween or not, make sure you are within your limits and hence not causing worry to anybody.