Discussing cultural appropriation on campus
Jacob Downey
He/Him
Editor-in-Chief
10/4/22
On August 28th, as we were reacclimating from summer, reuniting with old friends, and rearranging our rooms, the Community Advisors of Langdon Woods held a “Langdon Luau” complete with floral motifs, tye-dye, and vestigial white supremacy. This act of cultural appropriation, a term meaning, “the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society”, was responded to in the following days by Director of Residential Life and Dining Services, Amanda Grazioso, acknowledging the bad optics of the event, stating:
“The goal of this welcome back program was to meet the staff, learn about some campus resources, connect with other residents, and have some fun. It was brought to our attention, however, that the name of the event specifically, ‘Luau’ may represent a level of cultural appropriation and have caused a negative impact. Residential Life strives to create inclusive and welcoming communities, but, for some, this event was counter to our intention, and we regret any harm caused.”
The message fell on deaf ears, however, as on September 3rd, PlymVegas, an organization self-described as “representing the savage culture of the Northern New Hampshire University, Plymouth State.” put on a “Hawaiian Darty”, declaring the day’s festivities as expressly “Hawaiian themed” and referring to one pictured student as “happiest/hottest Hawaiian”.
This type of appropriative behavior is not out of the ordinary for PlymVegas as on December 10th of 2021, they held a Holiday Luau under the tagline “Come Get Leid”.
When approached for comment on their appropriative actions and social responsibility as an organization wearing the name of our university, PlymVegas declined to comment. This attitude however displays an underlying disregard for Hawaiian customs and culture beyond that which is easily stereotyped in ways appealing to the white majority.
Danielle Kalani Heinz, a Ph.D. candidate and President of the Hawaiian Daughters Guild, considers the cultural appropriation of Hawaiian customs to “impose these stereotypes on us that we don’t view ourselves as, and a lot of the times these they’re very non-nuanced. They show that people don’t really understand [us] but they want to depict us in ways that I guess they see in movies, that are entirely problematic because we’re more than the over-sexualized, fetishized type of appearance that we’re made out to be”.
Narrowing in on hula is a method of storytelling not dissimilar from ballet, in which movement is accompanied by song or chat to tell a story. Heinz stressed that the significance of this practice transcends the ‘hula girl’ concept of the American zeitgeist, stating:
“[Hula is] actually stories, it’s very cultural. It’s very spiritual, and even to be a hula dancer in a halau. It’s, it’s this idea of responsibility. You have to know a lot more language like what different stuff means and why it’s important to share a lot of these stories. And it’s not just something you can sign up like the stuff like hot hula or whatever, though. That’s his own form of appropriation because it doesn’t have that spiritual contact and doesn’t have this transmission of knowledge. And that’s not to say that some of that dances aren’t sexual by the content or the double meaning, but the way it’s done is a way that is a crazy mockery, it shows like, we’re just something to be ogled at, rather than a culture to be respected.”
Beyond the realm of hula, Heinz critiqued our emphasis on motifs often associated with Hawaiian culture as a result of colonization rather than an authentic element of a culture.
“Stuff like Aloha shirts that are just like, I guess crafted to be what Hawaiians look like. They were like, a result of colonization, they’re kind of this hybrid form of dress. That’s not to say that Hawaiians didn’t make it their own. It’s kind of complicated in that sense”.
The perception of Hawaiian culture as displayed by Langdon Woods and PlymVegas speaks to a fundamental need for social justice as a means of educating people to not disrespect other cultures in this way. Alberto Ramos, the head of The Center for Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice, a newly established organization on campus seeking to, “elevate attention to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice at Plymouth State University”, spoke to this idea of misunderstanding, stating:
“I think the folks that planned the event, weren’t aware that it could have a negative impact, and definitely weren’t intending to have a negative impact on anyone. When it was brought to this office’s attention we had a conversation with the different offices involved. I was very happy with the response of particularly our residential life directors, and they were very clear to me that they really want to make sure that all our students feel good, and that they’re not doing cultural appropriation and so they sent out an email to all of the students that attended the event, just apologizing, per my recommendation, recognizing that there was a misstep and, and trying to do better and be aware”
The Diversity office also espoused an idea of ‘cultural humility, that “ we’re all on a journey, we all have something to learn”. This idea makes up the crux of the Diversity Offices mission, holding diversity education sessions to provide ‘Safe Zone’ and anti-racism training and promote inclusivity on campus. Ramos sees the goal of the Diversity Office to have both preventative and restorative measures ready to be acted on, stating “ The proactive strategies [are] diversity education sessions that different offices across campus can request. Also, with my position here, I really try to make myself available to people who may have questions on whether they should post something or use certain language. So people often ask for my feedback on, you know, things that are getting sent out. And so I’ll try to take a second look and see, and I don’t always have the right or the best answer, but I try to make recommendations as a proactive strategy” and “in a reactive sense, when things do occur, we try to support individuals that have either been impacted or may have made a mistake, and they weren’t aware of it. And so supporting them and moving forward.”
Where Ramos and Heinz overlap is within the idea that education is how we fight cultural appropriation. “I was in a Queer and Ally sorority” recalled Heinz, “and we had education mostly on queer stuff, but it’s also on intersectionality and different experience of queer people of color and I think for that, in terms of just like resolving, ignorant stuff that really helped, because you’re like, wow, I didn’t realize what I was saying, or what I grew up with saying was problematic”.
The Diversity Office holds regular social justice Empower Hours on Wednesdays from 5 to 6, in which youth leaders discuss issues of power, privilege, and justice with topics changing week to week. These seminars provide students with a place to learn from one another but perhaps most importantly, a safe space to be wrong and to then be educated.
PSU students put in the hard work to create avenues for allyship, so it is therefore important that we highlight the good work these organizations do just as much as we call out the bad behavior of others. For October, the Diversity Office will be celebrating LGBTQ-History month day with special programming of their Empower Hour events with ‘Coming-Out day’ on the 11th and a screening of “The Life and Death of Marsha P. Johnson”, on the 20th. Furthermore, the Black Student’s Union holds regular Friday meetings in Hub 109 with a focus on community building, black culture, and allyship.
Accountability is the only means by which we can grow. It is our responsibility to this community to call out bad actors and think about the effects of our actions. Is PlymVegas a racist institution? Probably not, but did their actions perpetuate attitudes that are white supremacist in nature? Yes, and it is now our collective duty to take a moment to consider how actions that may seem small, can perpetuate violence against marginalized identities. The ‘white moderate’ is a term coined by Martin Luther King to refer to “[he] who is more devoted to order than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice”. The ideology of the white moderate may not contrast with social justice causes, but will not take action that would disrupt their day-to-day life. As a community, we must not live in white moderation. We should reconsider and recontextualize our pasts to make way for a brighter future. We should listen to our neighbors and create a campus that can we can all truly be proud of.