A recent piece written by Simon Olech for the College Fix shows that over the past 10 years, many colleges and universities pushed a politically correct, woke agenda on students, advising them how to properly dress up for Halloween without offending certain groups.
Olech says for many years, campus leaders made it their mission in October to warn students what not to wear, with “unacceptable costumes” including “wearing Native American headdresses, dressing up as a ‘Mexican’ by wearing a sombrero, dressing as a ‘geisha,’ and avoiding any form of blackface.”
“Students were chided against committing a ‘cultural appropriation’ offense if the outfit did not originate from one’s own culture,” said Olech.
The college’s event went so far as to host special workshops for students to make sure they were “up to speed” on the current culture.
Olech laid out several examples of schools going overboard with woke Halloween views.
In 2017, Princeton University had an event called “Conversation Circles: Cultural Appropriation and Halloween,” where students were taught about “the impact of cultural appropriation, Halloween, and why culture is not a costume.”
The University of South Indiana held a Halloween workshop called “Culture not Costumes.” They wanted to show awareness that “clothing, symbols, music, art, religion, language, and social behavior” were all elements of cultural appropriation, informing students not to dress as “Pocahotties” and “sexy Indian Princesses.”
In South Carolina at Furman University, which is known for having an undergraduate population more conservative than state colleges, Olech uncovered that in October of 2019, at the school’s Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s “Speech Code of the Month,” students were told they would be investigated if they “encourage people to wear costumes or act in ways that reinforce stereotypes or are otherwise demeaning.”
The University of Texas in Austin released a 29-point checklist on offensive Halloween costumes and inappropriate party themes, warning students to avoid “exotic” or “unique” themes, including “Cowboys and Indians,” as well as “tropical” or “fiesta” concepts.
Another school that bought into wokeness during Halloween was Michigan State University. The school had an Inclusive Excellence and Impact division that promoted DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Olech says that school function told students, while most think of Halloween as a time to dress in costume and celebrate all things spooky, it can also become grounds for racist, sexist, ableist, culturally insensitive, and biased behaviors.”
But in 2025, it seems most schools have scaled back their attack on those that may dress “politically incorrect.” Olech notes that this could be the reason, as universities have removed their DEI staff and programs.
