Spring Break
Law School Party Causes Stir Over Stereotypes
Lindsay Larsen
Issue date: 2/2/07 Section: News
A party held days after Martin Luther King Jr. Day and hosted by students at the UConn School of Law has caused controversy and drawn fire for being racially insensitive.
Photographs from the party, which had a "Bullets and Bubbly" theme, were posted on Facebook.com, and some students and staff members were offended by the appearance of the students in the photos.
The partygoers, who were mainly law school students, are depicted in the photos dressed in do-rags, baggy clothes, gold teeth with some holding machine guns. The photographs also had captions, some containing rap lyrics. The party was held at a private home and about 75 people attended, according to The Hartford Courant.
The photographs were brought to the attention of administrators, and removed from Facebook, but then were posted at thesmokinggun.com, where they attracted wider attention, according to interim Law School Dean Kurt Strasser.
Strasser said the photos serve as a lesson to people who post material on the Internet.
"People put things on Facebook and think it's controlled but it's really not," said Strasser.
According to Strasser, the people who attended the party did not intend it to be hurtful.
"It was an exercise in bad judgment," Strasser said. It is indicative of a lack of understanding about different communities and is also reflective of a larger societal issue, Strasser said.
Michael Nichols, a law school student and a graduate student trustee on the UConn Board of Trustees, attended the party. The first part of the theme, "bullets," is a slang term for 40 ounces of beer, so some guests dressed in a hip-hop fashion and brought 40s. The second part was "bubbly," so the other half of the attendees wore formal wear and brought champagne, Nichols said; he wore a tuxedo as part of the "bubbly" theme.
"My immediate reaction was sorrow, regret and confusion," said Nichols. I was confused as to why people were hurt or offended, but sorry that they were and regretful that my actions contributed to that hurt - even if I dressed according to the second theme of the party that wasn't found to be offensive."
Photographs from the party, which had a "Bullets and Bubbly" theme, were posted on Facebook.com, and some students and staff members were offended by the appearance of the students in the photos.
The partygoers, who were mainly law school students, are depicted in the photos dressed in do-rags, baggy clothes, gold teeth with some holding machine guns. The photographs also had captions, some containing rap lyrics. The party was held at a private home and about 75 people attended, according to The Hartford Courant.
The photographs were brought to the attention of administrators, and removed from Facebook, but then were posted at thesmokinggun.com, where they attracted wider attention, according to interim Law School Dean Kurt Strasser.
Strasser said the photos serve as a lesson to people who post material on the Internet.
"People put things on Facebook and think it's controlled but it's really not," said Strasser.
According to Strasser, the people who attended the party did not intend it to be hurtful.
"It was an exercise in bad judgment," Strasser said. It is indicative of a lack of understanding about different communities and is also reflective of a larger societal issue, Strasser said.
Michael Nichols, a law school student and a graduate student trustee on the UConn Board of Trustees, attended the party. The first part of the theme, "bullets," is a slang term for 40 ounces of beer, so some guests dressed in a hip-hop fashion and brought 40s. The second part was "bubbly," so the other half of the attendees wore formal wear and brought champagne, Nichols said; he wore a tuxedo as part of the "bubbly" theme.
"My immediate reaction was sorrow, regret and confusion," said Nichols. I was confused as to why people were hurt or offended, but sorry that they were and regretful that my actions contributed to that hurt - even if I dressed according to the second theme of the party that wasn't found to be offensive."
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 18
C
posted 2/02/07 @ 8:04 AM EST
Good grief!
If a portion of the population is so "offended" by people mimicking their behaviors -- perhaps that portion of the population should clean up their "culture" so that there is nothing to mimic and thereby offend. (Continued…)
LBowden
posted 2/02/07 @ 10:09 AM EST
Wow! As a Uconn graduate I must say I was quite dismayed at not only the judgement of some of the Uconn law students, and a former president of USG, but also at utter lack of common concern some readers of this newspaper show. (Continued…)
Tim Chambers
posted 2/02/07 @ 11:45 AM EST
Makes me embarrassed to be an alum.
Keish
posted 2/02/07 @ 1:57 PM EST
I am not at all surprised that this event took place, however I am disappointed. Should I ever need an Attorney for ANYTHING: Mortgage Closing, Contracts, Traffic Violation you name it, Uconn Law is NOT EVEN THE LAST PLACE I would seek to solicit an Attorney. (Continued…)
SomethingCreative
posted 2/02/07 @ 2:22 PM EST
I'm white. People could throw a "White Rich Snobby Party" or whatever they want and I honestly couldn't care less about what they wore or drank. If you're confident in your own self-image (and obviously at a themed party people are going to take stereotypes out of proportion) then you should have no problem with a party like this. (Continued…)
Danielle
posted 2/03/07 @ 11:02 PM EST
I found the party to be very offensive not only as a black woman but as a person in general. It is unfortunate that people continue to use stereotypes judge an entire group and hide behind their ignorance as an excuse. (Continued…)
Kerry
posted 2/06/07 @ 12:47 PM EST
I agree with Danielle 100%. The stereotypes and discrimination that white people suffer from is not a reflection of 200 years of social, institutional and legal discrimination. (Continued…)
niamichelle
shaun
posted 2/09/07 @ 3:15 PM EST
I'm curious if they are imitating black rappers or the white ones like paul wall & bubba sparks with their gold teeth? I'm sure every single white student there has the hip hop stations tuned in on their radios. (Continued…)
Annette
posted 2/12/07 @ 9:58 AM EST
The theme should have been of your own back wood culture, becuz you have a culture that has for centuries needed cleaning beginning with your hillbilly ebonics, your hatred & hatred for anyone that's not you, your immaturity in 2007 to continued this racial hatred, and obviously your love for black folk that you can't admitt, and among other things your promiscuity. (Continued…)
Quesadilla
posted 11/28/07 @ 10:04 PM EST
I think it may have been racially charged, of course. It's a party where party goers portray black gangsta culture and white snobby culture. Of course the black gangsta culture is less affluent, so the party can be seen as picking on them. (Continued…)
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