By: Jenna Beresheim
News Editor

As Halloween draws near, and the parties start lining up, there is the typical mad scramble for costumes and candy.

Soon, college students will be partying it up and children will be moving door-to-door in hopes of bagfuls of scrumptious sweets.

Something not so sweet is the tasteless, ignorant, and blatantly disrespectful costumes that line store shelves, or even worse still, are homemade.

Ask anyone and they can come up with at least one example they have seen in stores, created by a fellow partygoer, or even on children as the door opens to pass out treats.

On Oct. 31, the streets may be filled with costumes such as: Little Amigo, Indian Brave, Caitlyn Jenner, Confederate General, Rastafarian, and many more.

Whether it is a longstanding tradition of insensitivity, such as costumes focused on Native American outfits and culture, or a trending topic such as Caitlyn Jenner or the Boston Marathon bombing, it’s still always wrong.

Some individuals may claim these costumes are meant as a joke, but what’s really the joke is the human wearing the outfit.

This goes for costumes involving racial, ethnic, religious, LGBTQ+, cultural, and numerous other topics. It is probably safe to say that anything involving blackface is a no go, as are sugar skulls, despite what many Pinterest populates may think.

Don’t get me wrong, my cautionary tales are not about taking the “fun” out of Halloween.

The fun is in hanging out with friends, having a great time at whatever strikes your fancy on Hallow’s Eve, and being safe while doing it. There are plenty of other costumes to choose from that are sure to get the approval of friends and cultural communities.

Some top trending 2015 ideas for the pop culture pioneers are as follows: #FollowMe Couple, The Tumblr Dress, Minions, Left Shark, Mad Max, Game of Thrones (Shame Bell Lady, anyone?), and even the Margarita Man from Jurassic World.

Of course, these featured costumes cover the comedy aspect of Halloween versus those who go full force with the gore. It’s all about personal preference.

For a great, succinct rundown of the idea behind the culturally sensitive costume movement, more information can be found at the source: Ohio University’s STARS program.
The website features past promotional posters and more information on what Culture not a Costume is all about.