If you’re a student at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario and plan to attend the annual Halloween celebrations at Isaac’s Bar and Grill, there’s something very important you have to do before hitting the pavement – check this list of prohibited Halloween costumes.
The student union at Brock prepared a guide for students to determine if the costume they plan to wear to the annual campus Halloween party is offensive or not.
Included on the list are geishas, thobes, blackface, Day of the Dead, feathered war bonnets, African head ties, the hijab, the burqa, the niqab, turbans, bindi forehead decoration, and any Caitlyn Jenner costume.
Other prohibited costumes include (but are not limited too): Anyone who makes fun of suicide or rape (for example Bill Cosby, Robin Williams), anything containing the Confederate flag in any form, Costumes that represent a cultures’ traditional dress.
The Halloween Costume Vetting Protocol is a way of communicating to students on what is not acceptable, encourage students to be mindful of their costume choices and prevent offensive representations of our friends, family members and co-workers from permeating our spaces in an oppressive and offensive way.
If you ignore the list, or perhaps just claim plain ignorance, here’s what the student union says will happen if a person attending the party is denied entry based on their costume:
We’re working hard to spread the word on appropriate costumes here at Brock, but mistakes happen. In order to create an inclusive and diverse environment, some costumes may be denied. If a member of your party is denied entry because of their costume, they will be escorted to a space where they can change or remove the offending item. They will not lose their place in line during this process, and can enter Isaac’s once the costume has been deemed appropriate by team of Isaac’s Bar and Grill Management and Student Justice Centre Staff.
Image – Screengrab