Cinco de Mayo, or “the fifth of May,” is a Mexican holiday that celebrates the Mexican army’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla in 1862 during the Franco-Mexican War. The holiday has now become a popular celebration of Mexican culture in the United States. On the morning of the holiday, May 5, 2016, DU’s vice chancellor of campus life and inclusive excellence, Liliana Rodriguez, sent an email to students expressing the “importance of respect and cultural sensitivity” on campus. She went on to define the term ‘cultural appropriation’ as: “when people adopt or use aspects of a culture when they are not members of that culture”. She states that as a Mexican-American, as well as a fellow ally to other races and cultures, she finds exploitive symbols against her and other heritages’ cultures, such as wearing sombreros, fake mustaches or headdresses, to be offensive. Since the email was sent to students, Rodriguez has faced criticism from some of the student body that the use of her position to promote her “political opinion” is wrong, and that students should have the freedom to wear what they wish.
Despite critiques of the vice chancellor, promoting cultural sensitivity is not a political opinion, but rather a step towards making DU’s campus more inclusive and a safer environment for students of color. Furthermore, making students aware of the harm they are doing by wearing culturally appropriated clothing is not suppressing students in any way. In fact, it is helping to undo the oppression of racism that many of DU’s students face.
If Liliana Rodriguez’s experience and perspective is not enough to sway students to be more respectful and aware on campus, maybe other students’ experiences will. Project Ava is a nonprofit organization dedicated to sharing the stories of others. On April 14, 2016, the organization shared a video they made with students of color at DU. The video shared their experiences here at the university. Many of the students voiced their complaints of DU’s exclusive, oppressive environment and the lack of protection and support the students and faculty of the school have given to them. They shared concerns such as the blunt racism they have faced on campus, like students telling them to “stop shoving race down their throat” and making rude exclamations on the color of their skin, the exclusive groups that do not relate to them and that DU’s campus does not look like the racially diverse city of Denver.
It is important that students listen to the stories of others on campus, especially those who have much different stories than their own. Furthermore, it is important that students be open to the wishes of students of color and respect their cultures, as students who do not face their prejudices have no right to claim that students of color should not be offended. DU must create a more respectful and safer environment for students of color, and in order to do this, other students must be willing to respect their opinions and stories.
If Mexican-American students and faculty express that it is harmful to their identity and culture to wear culturally appropriated clothing such as sombreros, it is important that students respect that. As the end of Rodriguez’s email questions, “Must someone’s heritage be disrespected for others’ entertainment?” It is possible to celebrate Mexican culture without disrespecting it, and it is the responsibility of DU students to be respectful of other students’ culture.
