By Julia Berkman
Western Athletics is under fire after a “Hawaiian” Night-themed basketball game was criticized by members of the Oceanic Student Association.
Mele Mataese, president of OSA, made a Facebook post Wednesday night calling out Western Athletics for what she personally believed was an ignorant and culturally appropriative theme.
“Just because our PI [Pacific Islander] community on campus is little doesn’t mean we are nonexistent, and you all truly must have thought this was okay but I’m telling you it’s not. You sincerely disgust me Western,” she wrote.
Mataese said she was really upset to hear about the theme night. She believes the “beachwear theme” doesn’t have anything to do with real Hawaiian culture, but rather is a mirror of the tourists who colonize the shores.
“Out of all the workshops and all the things we talk about on this campus, who did y’all talk to who said that it was okay to have a Hawaiian night?” she asked.
According to Western Athletics Director Steve Card, no concerns were raised until Mataese made her post.
Mataese said she thought the fact that no one questioned the theme during the process of planning the promotion was an issue.
“If you’re that high up and you don’t think there’s anything wrong with having a Hawaiian Night, despite us being all about equality and inclusivity, I don’t know what to tell you,” she said.
Card emailed an apology to Mataese and OSA and the theme of the event was removed.
“We apologize for this lack of understanding on this matter and realize the serious nature with all of our student organizations. We will learn from this mistake moving forward,” he wrote in the email.
“In this case, it was offensive, and we discontinued it immediately and apologized for our mistake,” Card said.
Mataese wasn’t pacified by Card’s apology, which she felt was too short and put the blame on Pacific Islander students.
“It wasn’t an apology,” Mele said, “It was a ‘get over it.’”
This isn’t the first time Western Athletics has been criticized for being insensitive. In 2015, controversy sparked after Western students debated whether or not Victor E. Viking was a mascot the represented the school well.
Some students believed that vikings, who were white and considered by many to be violent, did not fairly represent the diverse population at Western. Others were resistant to the change. The debate culminated in racist threats made on the app Yik Yak and class was cancelled the day before Thanksgiving break.
Western Athletics didn’t respond to the controversy at that time. Card said that this was the first time there had been complaints like Mataese’s heard by Western Athletics.
While Card says his department is going to now ensure that all promotions are vetted, Mataese hopes that the onus to educate doesn’t fall to black and brown people.
“People of color should not have to call out the administration. They go to workshops and training for this kind of thing,” Mataese said. “If you know better you should do better.”
Update 4:08 p.m. : OSA has issued a statement which can be read here.