Those Wagga Wagga Uni Students Who Dressed Up In KKK Outfits And Blackface Have Been Suspended
"All students involved in the incident have shown remorse for their actions and been offered ongoing counselling and support."
Charles Sturt University has suspended students who attended a ‘politically incorrect’-themed party in blackface, Klu Klux Klan and concentration camp outfits last month.
Photos from the party circulated on social media and were reported on across various Australia media outlets in June, with stories appearing in Junkee, the Sydney Morning Herald, triple j’s Hack and more. The Facebook event for the party advised attendees “grab a kit that would legally get you in shit and hook right in”.
The party occurred off-campus at Wagga Wagga’s Black Swan Hotel on June 14. The Hotel has since claimed they were unaware of the event’s costumes.
In a statement released Monday, the CSU’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann announced that the school’s internal investigation was complete, resulting in “penalties ranging from exclusion to suspension”.
“These images resulted in global outrage and contact to the University from individuals around the globe,” Vann said. “On a local level, it deeply offended our Indigenous and Jewish communities.”
“Individuals, community groups, fellow students and those involved will all have differing opinions on the penalties. As a University we will not tolerate or condone this behaviour, we will however work with students during their suspension to further educate them on the cultural impact of their actions.”
That education includes completing the university’s Indigenous Australian Cultures, Histories And Contemporary Realities subject. There is an also an expectation that students engage with local Indigenous and Jewish communities. Specific details are not known, due to the CSU’s privacy considerations.
“All students involved in the incident have shown remorse for their actions and been offered ongoing counselling and support,” he said.
Australia is currently 19 days without a (known) blackface incident. But Chris Lilley was recently seen putting on a Rachel Dolezal-esque outfit while filming his upcoming Netflix show, so who knows how long it will be until the counter has to be reset.