A letter of apology from the University of Minnesota Office of Student Affairs:
Dear students, faculty, and staff,
I am writing you today to apologize.
It has come to my attention that the student-led Game Room Programming committee in Student Unions and Activities, part of the Office for Student Affairs, recently held an event titled ‘Galactic Fiesta’ at the game room in the St. Paul Student Center. The primary focus of the event was glow in the dark bowling. At the event, however, students and our mascot, Goldy Gopher, dressed in ponchos, wore sombreros, and participated in a themed party that has caused concern among several members of our campus community.
While the student planners of the event were unaware of the impact it might have on our broader University community, we have taken this opportunity to educate them about stereotypes, disrespectful appropriations, and the political complexities of representation. We are committed to a developmental model in OSA, and we have made sure that the students involved in this event have had the opportunity to reflect on the way in which others have perceived it.
In addition, we continue to address the importance of these issues with staff across the Office for Student Affairs. As an organization, we are dedicated to offering services, resources, support, and programming to meet the needs of our entir ecampus community. We may not get everything right at all times, but at an institution of higher education, we are committed to learn from our past experiences to improve our collective future.
I want to especially extend an apology to members of our Chicana/o and Latina/o communities. We can do better. We must do better.
We will do better.
Sincerely,
Danita Brown Young
Vice Provost and Dean of Students