Yale's Halloween Email Ignites Tense Racial Debate and Protests Among Students on Campus

Yale is undergoing a racial crisis and protests, sparked by recent events at Halloween and an email sent to students by the Senior Associate Dean of Yale College and Associate Vice President for Student Engagement, Burgwell Howard.

On Oct. 28, according to the New York Times, the Dean sent a letter to students imploring them to be sensitive in their choice of Halloween costumes. This was prompted by a tradition of racially insensitive costumes in America that has troubled many. Burgwell told students they they "have the right to express themselves," and asked students to "actively avoid those circumstances that threaten our sense of community or disrespect, alienate or ridicule segments of our population based on race, nationality, religious belief or gender expression."

The email continued with examples of non-offensive costumes, as well as links to various racial stereotypes and their exploitation. This provoked the ire of some students that felt constricted in their Halloween creativity, as well as condescended to and treated like children.

According to Slate, Nicholas Christakis and his wife, Erika Christakis, a child development researcher, sent a response late on Oct. 30 in response to these feelings.

In the email, the couple, speaking in the first person, wrote, "I don't wish to trivialize genuine concerns about cultural and personal representation, and other challenges to our lived experience in a plural community. I know that many decent people have proposed guidelines on Halloween costumes from a spirit of avoiding hurt and offense. I laud those goals, in theory, as most of us do. But in practice, I wonder if we should reflect more transparently, as a community, on the consequences of an institutional (which is to say: bureaucratic and administrative) exercise of implied control over college students."

They continued, "Is there no room anymore for a child or young person to be a little bit obnoxious ... a little bit inappropriate or provocative or, yes, offensive?'

After that, Jonathan Holloway, the first black dean in Yale's history, appeared at a student protest, where he was surrounded for three hours by students demanding a response. According to the Washington Post, a student named Ron Tricoche said, "As a black man, you know where we come from. You need to act, whether it's with Yale or without Yale."

After this, students gathered in the Silliman courtyard in protest to the statements of Nicholas and Erika Christakis. Nicholas eventually arrived at the courtyard, where he, too, was surrounded, though students eventually left him alone after realizing he wouldn't change his opinions.