Clemson University was forced to apologize for serving Mexican food in its dining halls after a few students complained about the “culturally insensitive” meal.
The university’s “Maximum Mexican” night has been held for years, and is one of several cultural-themed nights in the dining halls including a “Low Country BBQ Bash” and St. Patrick’s Day dinner, Campus Reform reported.
Clemson has yet to issue an apology to the Irish or Southerners.
It appeared that the vast majority of Clemson students didn’t take offense to being served tacos by cafeteria workers in sombreros, but the few who were, made their voices heard on Twitter.
One student, whose account has since been deleted, said, “Really @ClemsonUniv?! @ClemsonPrez I thought your focus was #Diversity #CUFiestaFiasco #CUlturallyInsensitive,” according to a screenshot obtained by Campus Reform.
Another student tweeted a photo of the cafeteria workers wearing sombreros and wrote, “Our culture isn’t a costume and we will not be mocked.”
An apology was issued by the Senior Associate Vice President of Student Affairs Doug Hallenbeck.
“It is the mission of University Housing & Dining to create supportive and challenging environments that enrich and nourish lives. We failed to live out our mission yesterday, and we sincerely apologize. We will continue to work closely with our food service provider to create dining programs that align with Clemson University’s core values,” the statement read.
Clemson Dining Services also apologized in a Facebook post that read, “Our intention was to celebrate Mexican cuisine which is a student favorite on campus. We will review future programming and partner with the campus community to create events that more appropriately represent food and culture.”
h/t Campus Reform
