Freeze, political correctness police! Colleges tell students to ask faculty if their Halloween costumes are offensive or not

  • The posters have appeared on such campuses as Wesleyan University, the University of Massachusetts and the State University of New York 
  • The flyers offer suggestions not to dress as an 'entire culture' or in a costume that 'trivializes human suffering, oppression and marginalization'
  • Prisoners, the mentally ill and the disabled are a no, the posters say
  • The posters list the numbers of faculty members willing to evaluate whether the costume is appropriate or not 
  • A administrator at Wesleyan says the posters are meant to be informational and they won't be writing up any students for violating the guidelines 

By Ashley Collman For Dailymail.com

Published: 13:15 EST, 30 October 2015 | Updated: 15:34 EST, 30 October 2015

In an attempt to stop students from dressing up as Caitlyn Jenner or sexy Cecil the Lion this Halloween, universities across the nation have been issuing some unsolicited advice about costumes. 

Ahead of the holiday on Saturday, schools have been posting flyers that advise on what is and is not appropriate for costumes.   

One flyer asks the question 'is your costume offensive?' and then goes through a checklist of potentially harming criteria such as whether the costume mocks religious symbols or seeks to represent an entire culture.

Ahead of the holiday on Saturday, schools have been posting flyers that advise on what is and is not appropriate for costumes. Above, a poster found at Wesleyan University 

Ahead of the holiday on Saturday, schools have been posting flyers that advise on what is and is not appropriate for costumes. Above, a poster found at Wesleyan University 

'Does this costume  trivialize human suffering from oppression, and marginalization such as portraying a person who is homeless, imprisoned, a person with disabilities or a person with mental illness?' another question on the poster reads.

Many of these posters also give a list of faculty members willing to talk to students about whether a specific outfit is OK. 

We aren't trying to tell students what they can and cannot wear
 Elisa Cardona, Wesleyan University 

So far, the posters have been spotted at the campuses of Wesleyan University, Hampshire College, the State University of New York and  the University of Massachusetts. 

At Wesleyan, the posters were put up by the Student Activities and Leadership Development office. 

SALD Director Elisa Cardona says the posters are guidelines and not any rules that students can get in trouble for violating. 

'We aren't trying to tell students what they can and cannot wear,' but get them 'to have conversations about the hard topics.' 

'I was hoping students would look at their costume and decide 'is this the image I want to project during Halloween? Am I comfortable with that image? Are other people going to be offended? Do I care if they are offended or not?' 

Below are some posters found at the SUNY: Geneseo campus 

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