SFSU plans 'Afro-themed' housing in wake of dreadlock confrontation

San Francisco State University has revealed plans to establish “Afro-themed” floors in residence halls following a confrontation between students last year over “cultural appropriation.”

According to CBS San Francisco, school administrators are in the early stages of their plan to create living communities tailored specifically to African American students, which is apparently a response to demands from the Black Student Union for increased inclusivity, as well as the growing influence of the Black Lives Matter movement on college campuses.

Notably, SFSU made news earlier this year for a racially charged incident which showed a black female student verbally and physically assaulting a white male student simply because he had dreadlocks.

[RELATED: Black SFSU student assaults white peer because he has dreadlocks]

“We want to be pro-active responding to some of the issues that have been brought out by the Black Lives Matter movement,” university spokesman Jonathan Morales told CBS. “We want to work with our student leaders in the Black Student Union and other students of color organizations to make sure that our living and learning community here is inclusive.”

Although the dorms are tailored to black students, they are open to anyone who wishes to live in them. Despite this fact, some students are still fearful that it could lead to voluntary segregation.

“I think we need to have united dorms and have different cultures be together and just come as a group,” student Sam Gebremiche said, though his classmate Jessica Wang countered that she had no objection to the idea, because “it’s not like only African Americans are okay to live on that floor.”

SFSU is not the first to offer racially-themed housing, joining a list that includes Cal State Los Angeles, the University of Connecticut, and Hampshire College.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @ChrisNuelle