Posted on April 18, 2012

Pinata Causing Controversy at University

Todd Starnes, Fox News, April 17, 2012

A Tennessee university is expressing regret after a photo surfaced showing a group of black boys hitting a piñata shaped like a white woman.

“We want to assure our community that no racial or gender animosity was intended,” a University of Memphis spokesman said in a statement provided to Fox News.

The photograph was taken during a luau sponsored by the University of Memphis Dept. of Residence Life and Dining Services. It showed a grade school student about to hit a Hula dancer piñata.

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“The photograph taken out of context may be disconcerting, but we want to assure our community that no racial or gender animosity was intended,” the statement concluded.

However, that’s not how some students observed the activity. Some called it “reverse racism,” according to television station WMC.

“It didn’t look right, just because of the social climate we’re in right now,” university student Veronica Birmingham told WMC. ”How could somebody be so insensitive and not realize this might cause an issue?”

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