The Phi Sigma Kappa Fraternity chapter at Cal Poly State University is currently investigation for throwing a "Colonial Bros and Nava-Hos" theme party, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reports, which has been deemed racist and culturally insensitive by school officials.
Men attending the off-campus party wore Colonial-era costumes while women came dressed as "sexy" Native Americans. Around 60 students reportedly attended, and several other Greek organizations at the school are also under investigation. On Tuesday, Nov. 19, Cal Poly Preisdent Jeffrey Armstrong officially denounced the party in a campus-wide email.
"Let us be clear, events like these have no place in the Cal Poly community and are not reflective of the principles of The Mustang Way," Armstrong wrote. "Obviously, this was not a university-sponsored event."
University spokesman Matt Lazier has deemed the party "culturally insensitive, sexist, and offensive," and acknowledges that while "the gathering was held off campus, the university takes diversity and inclusivity very seriously."
On Friday, Nov. 22, Armstrong held a university-sponsored forum for Cal Poly community members to come together and discuss the offending party and its impact.
"Personally, I don't think it was meant to be racist," said a Cal Poly student and fraternity member named Daniel, who declined to provide his last name to the Tribune. Daniel added that the theme of the party was likely meant to fit a Thanksgiving holiday theme.
"It's unfair," he said. "We are taught that Thanksgiving is Pilgrims and Indians."
Meanwhile, Cal Poly Phi Sigma Kappa president, Andrew Gulbronson, told the Tribune that his chapter is working with university officials on the investigation, though he declined to "to confirm or deny Phi Sigma Kappa's involvement in the party."
"I think the mentality that went into the creation of this party, the mentality that thought this was OK, is ubiquitous in America," Tristin Moone, a citizen of the Diné (Navajo) Nation who is a student of Native American Studies at Columbia University in New York, told NBC News on the subject of the party. "I'm worried about indigenous students in that institution not having an ally or advocate who can help mentor them, and guide students for a better understanding of Native peoples around the world."
