Shame on you Loyola University. A sign posted earlier this week at the Damen Dining Hall on the university’s Rogers Park campus had encouraged students to “Try our African American cuisine popular in the African American community.” The dinner menu included fried chicken, maple mashed sweet potatoes, collard greens, black eye peas salad and grape-flavored Kool-Aid. So who thought this was a good idea?
Students and alum were red hot fire!! “I think it’s disrespectful on a level because they pulled out the stereotypical meals, but it could have been worse,” said Karrington Jones, a black student studying Health Systems Management. Another student said, “There was no need for them to pull out purple Kool-Aid and serve that and pass that off as part of an African American cuisine. I felt like it was disrespectful.” Social media also jumped into the fray, with many critics calling the gesture “offensive,” “racist” and “insensitive.” Loyola officials on Friday said the university’s food vender apologized and took responsibility for the “insensitive and inappropriate” signs and menu. “Recently, our food service vendor Aramark offered a menu in Damen Dining meant to celebrate Black History Month, but which was also seen as promoting stereotypes of the African American community.” Aramark also issued a statement, claiming the “intention of the onsite team was not to offend patrons. We fully recognize that the execution of the promotion was done in an insensitive way.” The offensive sign was the work of a single Aramark employee and officials said there will be training to ensure employees know the proper way to promote dining services. Personally, I don’t see the word “sorry or apologize” in their statement and where do you see Kool-Aid on a menu in a restaurant ? You know something , just between us, and based on the statements, I got a funny feeling the sign may have been made by a black person. If that’s the case then, if you don’t know, you better ask somebody.
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