On Tuesday, Oct. 27 Lambda Theta Alpha Sorority Incorporated held a virtual discussion on cultural appropriation. The event was entitled “My Culture is Not Your Costume,” and it discussed what is and is not considered offensive to wear on Halloween.
The keynote speaker was Demi Ardic, who is a senior sociology student. She was initiated into the chapter in the Spring of 2020. The event commenced with a game of virtual hangman with the phase “cultural appropriation.”
Ardic defined cultural appropriation as the use of someone’s cultural identity as a trend or style. She said, “the more dominant culture takes a certain [aspect] from a certain culture and makes it their own without giving credit where credit is due.”
She exemplified this by showing pictures of the Chicago Redskins logo, popular white rapper Bhad Bhabie’s dreadlocks and a picture of an Asian woman with chopsticks in her hair. She explained that when people participate in acts of cultural appropriation, they glorify a certain culture without feeling enduring the same hardships that they do.
Attendees of the event were put in breakout rooms to discuss their own examples of culturally appropriated Halloween costumes. Some popular examples included gypsies, guidos, and sugar skulls.
What made this event unique was that it allowed for open conversation between participants. Senior sociology student, and sister of Lambda Theta Alpha said, “I think it’s really important to have these presentations and discussions especially in college because if you’re not educated you could just go to the Halloween store and pick a costume and not even realize how you might be offending someone.”
Moriah Roof, a sophomore education student and sister of Alpha Omicron Pi said, “Through this presentation, I learned about cultural appropriation with costumes and how to be respectful while choosing a costume for Halloween.”
Overall, the event was an informative success and they look forward to hosting more sessions like this one in the future.
PHOTO COURTESY of Lambda Theta Alpha, Tau Chapter
