Fraternity's 'Trump wall' causes outrage on Tulane campus
A pro-Trump wall erected around a frat house at Tulane University sent students into an uproar, even causing some to eventually tear down the wall for its connotations of “xenophobia.”
Members of Tulane’s Kappa Alpha (KA) chapter explained that the wall was built as part of a yearly tradition in which new recruits are forced to assemble a barrier around the house for a game of capture the flag. This year, however, they painted “Make America Great Again” on the wall, which has become Republican frontrunner Donald Trump’s campaign slogan.
Students were not happy with the hateful rhetoric, though, and said KA had “pushed it overboard” this year.
[RELATED: Greek week events cancelled after members paint pro-Trump messages on free speech wall]
“This really pushed it overboard for students of color on campus,” student Khristyan Trejo said. “It’s one thing to see an endorsement of Trump on campus — that’s freedom of speech — but it’s another to see the wall when it’s a symbol of racism and oppression.”
But KA explained that the message was, in fact, intended to “mock” Trump’s policies rather than serve as any sort of endorsement.
[RELATED: University bans golf team from using Trump course because of campaign rhetoric]
“The comment was written on a makeshift wall on our private property, normally used for a game of capture the flag, to mock the ideologies of a political candidate. This had an unintended negative effect and as such it has been dismantled,” KA wrote in a statement to USA Today.
The wall, however, was not “dismantled” by members of KA; a video shows a group of unknown individuals tossing the sandbags (which the wall was built out of) into the street while members of KA look on and yell: “this is private property!”
[RELATED: Hispanic student criticized for denying Trump is hate speech]
The Daily Mail alleged that the anonymous vandals were members of Tulane’s football team.
Even after the wall was dismantled, students were still upset with KA, calling its actions a “slap in [the] face.”
“It’s all just plain disgusting to see this happening in the U.S., the ‘melting pot’ of the world,” student Claire Cruz said. “As a Latina on a mostly all-white campus, I am constantly seeing little acts of racism and white privilege, but this huge act was a slap in my face. Not only do I feel as if my safety has been threatened, but also my humanity is being completely written off.”
When asked if the university planned to take disciplinary action against the fraternity or its members, Executive Director of Public Relations Michael Strecker said they would not.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @AGockowski
