Bristol University students spark racism debate after dressing as WHITE Orange is the New Black character and cornrowing their hair
The girls were blasted by the head of the Uni's Afro Caribbean Association
TWO white students are being accused of racism after they wore cornrows in their hair and heavy make-up to an 'Orange is the New Black' party.
The teens, who deny any accusations of cultural appropriation, were attending a University of Bristol student party on Friday and dressed as a white character from the hit Netflix series.
They appeared at the event, which had the theme 'teams, memes and 2016', dressed as the character Patricia who is often shown wearing cornrows in her hair.
But the costumes have caused offence and head of Bristol University's Afro Caribbean Association, Chanté Joseph, took to social media to voice her displeasure.
In a tweet which has since been deleted she said: "This is disgusting and I will not rest until these girls are dealt with properly because it's out of order and insensitive."
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Both teenagers have denied all accusations of 'cultural appropriation' and say they are offended by the suggestion.
One of the pair, who was not named, told The Tab: "I find it deeply offensive to be accused of being racist for my hairstyle, make-up and outfit.
"Not only it shows deep lack of misunderstanding and obvious misinterpretation of what the TV series represents and aims to deliver, but also suggests that I, a 19 year old 'white girl', cannot get my hair braided as I wish.
"The fact that I need to justify myself for what I want to look like or who I want to interpret at a fancy dress party, is in itself ridiculous."
The teenager admitted that her BB crème make-up was "badly blended" but denied that this was an attempt to look like she came from a different race.
The second student told the paper that she had recently returned from a holiday to Cape Verde and was quite tanned.
She said: "My make-up suited the hairstyle, clothes and fitted in with the character from the TV series. No more to it than that."
Bristol University says it is in talks with the two teens.
A spokesperson said: "We aspire to create and maintain a culture where everyone feels valued, and where diversity is celebrated.
"We are in the process of setting up a task force, jointly led by Bristol's mayor Marvin Rees and our Vice-Chancellor, to consider what extra measures we can take to promote an open and inclusive culture within our community.
"This work will be coordinated by our new Equality Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group that will also be exploring and addressing wider issues linked to the experiences of our BME staff and students.
"We have invited the students concerned in this issue to meet with Professor Nishan Canagarajah, who chairs this new group."
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