Pranksters Clog UF Hotline to Protest Costume Guidelines

Campus Reform
By Amber Athey | 18 October 2016
 

A hotline for University of Florida students to report culturally insensitive Halloween costumes has backfired after a Fox Sports commentator instigated a series of prank calls to the number.

UF sent a newsletter to students on October 10 encouraging them to avoid Halloween costumes that could “perpetuate negative stereotypes” or cause “harm and offense” to other students, and urging anyone offended by such costumes to call a 24/7 counseling and wellness hotline.

The hotline quickly turned into a running joke, however, after Fox Sports commentator Clay Travis prank called the line during one of his live shows, pretending to be a gay student offended by a Harambe costume.

[RELATED: UMass creates cultural appropriation ‘threat meter’ for Halloween]

“I went to a fraternity party last night and there was somebody dressed as Harambe, the gorilla, and I found it to be really racially insensitive,” Travis said on the call. “It’s really disappointing that the University of Florida is not taking my microaggressions seriously because, I mean, I’m really upset about this costume that I saw.”
 
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