Fairfield University Investigating Reports of Off-Campus Racially Insensitive ‘Ghetto-Themed' Party

"We will be investigating this matter immediately, and will take appropriate actions," the school said in a statement

Fairfield University is investigating reports of students who live off-campus holding a racially-insensitive party with a "ghetto" theme over the weekend, according to several news outlets.

The Connecticut Post reports that the “ghetto-themed” party was held on Saturday night.

Fairfield University issued a statement saying officials learned over the weekend that students who currently live off-campus “allegedly hosted a culturally insensitive party at one of the residences” and university administration is working with students and diversity officers to investigate the incident.

In response, the Office of Student Diversity and Multicultural Affairs will be open and holding extended evening hours to meet with students and the student association held an emergency meeting to plan a student forum for this week.

Faculty and administrators are also planning a dialogue, which will be open to all members of the university community.

“Fairfield University is explicitly committed as a Jesuit and Catholic university to a culture that embraces and celebrates diversity, and we actively encourage conversations and support programs that deepen our students’ cultural sensitivity, while also impressing upon them that they are expected to be exemplary in their dealings with one another, and with everyone in the community,” a statement from the university says. “We expect that our students, faculty and staff maintain the highest level of respect for one another. We will be investigating this matter immediately, and will take appropriate actions as soon as the facts have been determined.”

The school said it is committed to an “inclusive, welcoming community that represents the diverse cultures that our students come from and where they will live.”

Last year, Yale University received national attention when allegations swirled that a fraternity held a "White Girls Only" party, but the school found "no evidence of systematic discrimination against people of color" and students who were at the party said that guests were allowed in on a first-come basis before it got too crowded and "men and women of color were among those admitted."

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