Universities issue guides, threats and counseling for 'offensive' Halloween costumes

Halloween: Schools crack down on insensitive costumes

From first-graders to college seniors, schools are cracking down on a wide swath of Halloween costumes. Watch the video to see what's considered offensive

Is your daughter’s Halloween costume racist?

Unless you’re Polynesian, dressing up your child as Disney’s Moana is racist, according to an activist parenting blogger.

Little girls dressing up as Elsa from Frozen should think twice because her character promotes “white beauty,” Sachi Feris writes in her blog, Raising Race Conscious Children, which went viral and was picked up by Cosmopolitan.

Some schools are warning students that Donald Trump costumes could be considered offensive.  (Reuters)
 

It’s also one of the busiest times of the year for college social justice warriors.

The mere possibility of someone dressing up in what could be viewed as an "offensive" costume is causing several colleges to proactively warn students -- using guides, checklists, workshops, threats of probes and investigations. Even offering 24/7 counseling.

Recently, schools cracked down on non-politically correct outfits, from creepy clowns to Caitlyn Jenner, and just about everything in between.

The wearing of a Native American headdress is considered offensive by many schools.  (AP)
 

“The scariest thing about your costume isn’t what you think,” according to a “Halloween and Cultural Appropriation Tabling” event at Goucher College in Maryland.

The University of St. Thomas in Minnesota put up “Costume or Culture Appropriation” fliers listing “unacceptable” costumes and clothing as including Native American headdresses, a Mexican sombrero, a geisha outfit or any form of blackface.

“Cultural appropriation is defined as ‘the act of taking intellectual and cultural expressions from a culture that is not your own, without showing that you understand or respect the culture,’” the flier read.
Offensive costumes incorporate “a long history of prejudice, hate, discrimination, colonialism, and slavery” as well as turning “an important and/or sacred element into fashion.”

And just in case you don't get easily offended by costumes, several universities are ready to help.
The University of California, Santa Barbara recently held a Social Justice Workshop to teach students how to spot Halloween costume abuse and appropriation.

Similarly, Washington State University’s Social Justice Peer Educators Group held an event entitled “We’re a Culture, Not a Costume” to teach people about “harmful” Halloween costumes, according to Acculturated.

Wearing a sombrero is highly discouraged by many colleges.  (AP)
 

The University of Massachusetts, Amherst put up “Simple Costume Racism Evaluation and Assessment Meter” (SCREAM) posters around campus, assigning threat levels based on how much a costume differs from the student’s own race.

Ohio State University’s student magazine had a similar flow chart this year that supports costumes that “make fun of Donald Trump,” but warns white students not to dress as Prince or wear “traditional head wear from other cultures.”

A Notre Dame Residence hall rector sent out a memo to her students before a Disney-themed dance not to dress up as Moana, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Mulan or The Princess and the Frog.