Luau Fails to Find Roots in New England
A Hawaiian luau at Dartmouth College was canceled after students complained it was culturally insensitive.
The party, sponsored by the Alpha Chi Alpha fraternity and the Delta Delta Delta sorority, was to be held last weekend.
It was canceled after a student sent an e-mail message to everyone on campus, calling it an act of bigotry.
Another student, Aaron Akamu of Hawaii, criticized the luau plans in the student newspaper.
“That people feel a right to capitalize on some stereotype of where I am from and the people I feel a cultural responsibility to in the name of fun, angers and hurts me,” Akamu wrote.
In Hawaii, a luau is a large feast with spiritual overtones. But with the growth of tourism on the islands, some luaus are simply commercial dinner parties.
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