Thetagate

Thetagate

Thetagate was a spring 2014 scandal.

Theta sisters dressed up as Mexicans (see photo at right) for an Olympics-themed party with Sig Ep (which avoided the scandal because the brothers requested that they represent only their own nation.)

Since the event Columbia's Theta chapter has worked to increase cultural awareness and education among both their chapter and community as a whole. Just one week after the Facebook stalking (and resulting articles) occurred, an event was co-hosted between Lambda Phi Epsilon and Onyx Dance Troupe entitled "No Harm Intended: A Discussion on Microaggressions and Their Unintended Consequences". The event included award-winning speaker and microaggressions expert Prof. Kevin Nadal, who spoke about forms of discrimination that are difficult to address because they are: subtle, which makes them hard to recognize and easy to trivialize; unintentional, which leads offenders to believe they have done nothing wrong; and so ingrained in our media and culture so as to have become unnoticeable.

Play-by-play of the Event

Campus press got its teeth into it, and there was a minor scandal. Spec wrote about it, including almost no context—only the Mexican-costume photos found while Facebook stalking—before adding more information.

Statements were released by the IGC and Dean Martinez and the Chicano Caucus. A "bias-related response team" consisting of Student Affairs, Multicultural Affairs, and fraternity and sorority life worked to address the incident.

Bwog then posted photos of Chicano Caucus members dressed as Mexican stereotypes and set it against their own statement about Thetagate. Chicano Caucus subsequently released another statement.

Katie Baker, CC '15 and Theta president, resigned over the photos.