Offensive Halloween Costumes Prompt Warning to Tuft University Students
Greek leaders at Tufts sent a letter to sorority and fraternity chapters.
— -- Some students at a Massachusetts university have taken a proactive stand against offensive Halloween costumes this year.
Greek leaders at Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts, sent a letter, shared online by the student newspaper, requesting that their fellow fraternity and sorority members avoid costumes that “appropriate cultures and reproduce stereotypes.”
"Greek Brothers and Sisters have worn costumes that appropriate cultures and reproduce stereotypes on race, gender, sexuality, immigrant or socioeconomic status," the letter read. "Outfits relating to tragedy, controversy, or acts of violence are also inappropriate."
"We need to set a precedent that people’s customs cannot and will not be our costumes," it continued.
The letter also includes a quote from the school’s dean of student affairs indicating that students “whose actions in our community feel threatened or unsafe” could face “disciplinary sanctions.”
Tufts told ABC News in a statement the letter was written “by students, for students” and that "the school does not have a Halloween costume policy.”
“We commend the leaders of our Greek Life councils for proactively raising these important issues with their fellow participants in Greek Life and encouraging responsible behavior,” the statement read. “We remain committed to a campus climate that protects free speech and an open and vigorous exchange of ideas. As is the case at any time, students whose actions are discriminatory or threaten others can face a range of administrative responses that, depending on the actions’ seriousness, can include disciplinary sanctions.”
This year’s buzzed-about Halloween costumes have included everything from a costume seeming to mock Kim Kardashian West as the victim of a Paris robbery to a nurse costume related to the outbreak of Ebola.
The “Parisian Heist Robbery Victim Kit” was pulled from the website of its manufacturer, Costumeish.com, on Oct. 11 after what the company called “extensive out-lash.” A photo of the costume showed a woman with long black hair and a sparkling diamond ring gagged and bound while dressed in a white bathrobe and dark sunglasses.
Costumeish.com is still selling its "Sexy Ebola Costume" for $59.99.
"As the deadly Ebola virus trickles its way through the United States, fighting its disease is no reason to compromise style," reads the costume's description online. "The short dress and chic gas mask will be the talk of Milan, London, Paris, and New York as the world's fashionistas seek global solutions to hazmat couture."
A less scary Halloween costume that is raising eyebrows this year is a "Deluxe Sexy Goldfish Costume" sold online by Yandy.com. The $164.95 costume features "a long sleeve orange glitter romper with an attached goldfish head hoodie, a zip-up front, iridescent peplum sides and an orange iridescent tail on the back," according to the website.
"You'll be anything but a dime a dozen in this limited edition Yandy Deluxe Sexy Goldfish costume," reads its description.
The scary clown craze hitting parts of the country this year is also impacting Halloween costumes. Target announced earlier this month that it would remove clown masks from its shelves just weeks before Halloween.
Some schools have also reportedly taken the extra step of asking students and parents not to dress in clown costumes because of the recent surge of clown threats and clown sightings.
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