Students petitioned last weekend for an apology from Zeta Psi fraternity following a party thrown Saturday night entitled “Bombs Over Baghdad.”
While the fraternity maintains the title was actually a reference to an Outkast song, some students demanded an apology for what they claim was a culturally insensitive act referencing the bombing of Iraq during the Gulf War.
Hanan Hameed, a fourth-year College student and founder of Hoos for Refugees, started the online petition and said she was encouraged to do so by members of the University’s Iraqi community.
“I wrote that petition and posted it thinking that I would get thirty supporters or something,” Hameed said. “But the numbers increased in two days, and I was very surprised by the reactions of people and how they also think that this title is just very unacceptable.”
The petition requested an apology to the Iraqi community and an explanation as to why Zeta Psi chose the name “Bombs Over Baghdad.”
In a statement released by Zeta Psi on Monday, the fraternity said they were unaware of the insensitivity of the title and apologized to the University and Iraqi community.
“The event name was not representative of the values which the Beta chapter and Zeta Psi Fraternity pride themselves upon,” the statement said.
While Hameed said she does not think Zeta Psi had malicious intent in choosing the name, she still believed the issue needed to be addressed.
“They have to be very sensitive of the diversity of, not just races or ethnicities, but of experiences,” Hameed said. “We’re in this community together, we have to be mindful of each other’s experiences.”
Fourth-year College student Nour Sulaiman said University organizations should be more aware of these kinds of racial and cultural insensitivities.
“Charlottesville has a large Iraqi refugee population,” Sulaiman said. “The Iraqi community understands the phrase ‘Bombs Over Baghdad’ very differently than the members of Zeta Psi.”
Sulaiman said student organizations should be aware of and sensitive to the plight of the University’s Iraqi refugee population.
“During the U.S. invasion of Iraq, 84 percent of the schools and universities in Iraq were destroyed,” Sulaiman said. “It is important that Iraqi refugees that are interested in a higher education feel comfortable attending the University of Virginia.”
Hameed, who experienced bombings in Iraq as a child, said the name of the party was detached from reality.
“It’s done out of ignorance ... and it’s bad ... because it dehumanizes people, and it doesn’t reflect well on U.Va.,” Hameed said.
A statement from the Inter-Fraternity Council said while Zeta Psi has not been brought up on formal charges, the the IFC will work to promote cultural sensitivity and diversity in the future.
“[The] IFC does not tolerate the type of cultural impassivity the name implies,” the statement said.
Zeta Psi echoed this statement and said they hoped to educate brothers in the future.
“Moving forward, we at the Beta Chapter hope to use the lessons learned from this error in judgment to help our brotherhood grow as individuals and be more involved in the U.Va. community,” the statement said.
Sulaiman said while the IFC must address concerns, the University community as a whole must promote racial and cultural sensitivity.
“Prejudice is learned, and can be unlearned through open and honest dialogue, knowledge of the effects of prejudice on our fellow students and awareness and reaffirmation of the American values of racial justice and equality,” Suleiman said.
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