School Bans Distribution of Sombreros, Says The Hats are ‘Racist’

A university in England has banned a Mexican restaurant from distributing sombreros as a promotional gift to students.

University of East Anglia’s student union said the hats, typically associated with the Mexican culture, were “racist” and violated a school policy that prevents vendors at a local fair from distributing “discriminatory or stereotypical imagery,” according to the Guardian. Employees from Pedro’s Tex Mex Cantina insist the gift was meant to celebrate Mexican culture, not demean it.

“As we handed out the sombreros we were told it was ‘culturally indifferent’, which we think is a shame because we are not doing anything to offend and we are just celebrating the culture,” said Pedro’s general manager, Matthew Ward, the Guardian reports.

But the school’s student union is standing by its decision. Some students, however, have claimed the student union is hypocritical—an annual event known as “Pimp My Barrow,” they say, plays into racist stereotypes associated with black people.

Read more at the Guardian.