Inflatable Sumo suits used as party props are racist according to Queens University, in Kingston Ontario.

 

From an article from the National Post:

“Sumo suits, the plastic novelties that can transform a skinny sports fan into a comically unstable sphere for the delight of a stadium audience, are racist and dehumanizing instruments of oppression, according to the student government of Queen’s University.

They “appropriate an aspect of Japanese culture,” turn a racial identity into a “costume,” and “devalue an ancient and respected Japanese sport, which is rich in history and cultural tradition.” They also “fail to capture the deeply embedded histories of violent and subversive oppression that a group has faced.”

 

From the study:

“A first-year student at Lakehead University, who happens to be a visible minority, shows up at an orientation session, only to find that she is the only one from her culture. She complains that the orientation activities do not reflect “who I am as a person.”

A Laurentian University student, also a visible minority, says events featuring pizza and beer are exclusionary. “You have the large group of students from Kapuskasing, Timmins or whatever else, they’re all white, they’re all from northern Ontario, and they’re all ‘Canadienne de souche.’ “

These are just two accounts included in a scathing study released this week by the Canadian Federation of Students that says individual and systemic racism permeates almost every facet of Ontario’s universities, from residence life and curriculum to hiring policies and governance.”

Sumo suits and beer and pizza parties are racist. What are universities teaching our kids. I would not recommend that my child or grand child attend a Canadian university.