- The Washington Times - Wednesday, October 12, 2016

The University of Florida is encouraging students to report “incidents of bias” stemming from their classmates’ offensive costumes this Halloween.

The administration sent a memo to students reminding them to “think about your choices of costumes and themes,” cautioning that some Halloween attire can “reinforce stereotypes of particular races, genders cultures, or religions.”

The university notes in the Oct. 10 missive that the “Bias Education and Response Team at the University of Florida is able to respond to any reported incidents of bias, to educate those that were involved, and to provide support by connecting those that were impacted to the appropriate services and resources.”

“Also, keep in mind that social media posts can have a long-term impact on your personal and professional reputation,” the administration warns, apparently without irony.

Out of an abundance of caution, the publicly funded institution of higher learning is also setting up a 24/7 hotline for students who are traumatized by triggering outfits.

“An inclusive definition of diversity recognizes the variety of personal and social experiences that make individuals and communities different from one another,” the memo says.

Offensive Halloween costumes, both in theory and reality, sparked discord on college campuses across the country last Fall.

Erika Christakis, formerly a lecturer at Yale University, resigned from her post last year after an email she sent to students suggesting it’s OK to be “a little bit inappropriate or provocative” on Halloween provoked a backlash on campus.

• Bradford Richardson can be reached at brichardson@washingtontimes.com.

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