The vice-chancellor of Charles Sturt University has spoken out against a group of students accused of racism for donning offensive costumes at a Wagga party on Thursday night.
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This comes after the CSU students wore Ku Klux Klan robes, blackface, Nazi-style swastikas, and concentration camp jumpsuits to a “politically incorrect” themed party at the Black Swan Hotel in North Wagga.
Vice-Chancellor Andrew Vann said he had never seen this type of misbehaviour from students before.
“I just want to say I'm very angry and disappointed that members of our community would do this,” Mr Vann said.
“We're all really shocked and disappointed, as I’m sure everybody would be who has seen the images would be – I think every right-thinking person would have the same reaction.”
Mr Vann said he and the university had already launched an investigation into the party and the students involved.
“We're going through our misconduct procedures and investigating the behaviour, and, certainly from my perspective, I think we need to take very strong action,” he said.
“If this points to more general cultural problems, we will certainly look at what we might need to do to educate our cohort of students and make sure this doesn’t go beyond a small selection of students.”
Mr Vann said the university had already identified some of the students involved and would continue investigating over the coming days.
CSU has reportedly offered counselling to any staff or students who were hurt by these students’ actions.
As the community outcry over the students’ actions continued, boxer and proud Wiradjuri man Joe Williams called out people who took to social media to dismiss the costumes as a bit of "harmless fun".
"The motto I live by with this type of thing or any behaviour is what you ignore you accept," Mr Williams said.
"Come on – do you think slavery was harmless fun? Do you think black men being lynched and hung up by the KKK is harmless fun?”
Mr Williams said the incident was proof that old attitudes towards race were still lingering in society.
"This shouldn’t be up to people of colour to call this stuff out – we're advanced enough as a country now to not accept this type of behaviour," he said.
"Let's not just condemn these guys, but let's explain to them why it’s offensive."
Staff at the Black Swan Hotel said the manager did not wish to comment on the event as he was not there on the night.
