KINGSTON—As they walked between classes, stood in line to grab coffee, and wandered through the hallways of the John Deutsch University Centre on Wednesday, students across the Queen’s University campus were debating and talking about racism- a conversation sparked after photos of students attending a party in offensive costumes went viral.

Professionally shot photos from the party showed some party goers in jumpsuits wearing sombreros, while others were dressed in Buddhist robes, as Arab men, and as Viet Cong guerrillas. The theme of the off-campus event, which was a drinking tournament, was countries of the world.

Images from the party were posted on Twitter on Monday by Toronto comedian Celeste Yim, who said she came across the photos on Facebook.

“A very shockingly racist party thrown by Queen’s students happened and the photos make me sick to my stomach,” Yim tweeted. “The costumes are indisputably and unequivocally offensive, tasteless, and should not be tolerated. Context and intentions have no bearing.”

The subsequent debate raged online, particularly in the Facebook group populated by students, Overheard at Queen’s. Many decried the stereotypical outfits while others said the they were not offensive, and that reaction to the photos was overblown, saying people are becoming overly sensitive.

Outside the John Deutsch University Centre, the main student building on campus, some wrote in bright blue chalk “make racists afraid again.”

Carling Counter, a fourth year politics student, said tensions were high on campus on Wednesday.

“It’s worked its way into almost every conversation I’ve had today. My professors know about it, and everyone has an opinion on it,” she said. “It’s inescapable, which is a good thing. We should all be talking about it, no question.”

School leaders were quick to condemn the party. Queen’s student government, the Alma Mater Society, released a statement earlier this week saying it was wrong that students were dressed in inappropriate costumes and “actions like these make students feel uncomfortable and unwelcome on our campus.”

Queen’s principal Daniel Woolf also released a statement Wednesday saying he was “upset and disappointed” by the incident and wants to learn more “so that the university can take appropriate measures to address concerns that have arisen.”

“Any event that degrades, mocks, or marginalizes a group or groups of people is completely unacceptable at Queen’s,” Woolf said, adding that the provost will be gathering information to determine if the event falls within the Queen’s Student Code of Conduct.

This is not the first time Queen’s University has had this kind of debate around offensive costumes.

Last month, the campus newspaper ran an editorial about offensive costumes during Halloween.

In 2015, All Year Social, a Commerce Society committee, ran a similar event that was condemned by a campus social issues organization. The Committee Against Racial and Ethnic Discrimination raised concerns over the event with the Commerce Society over culturally insensitive costumes, who decided to cancel the annual event. Saturday’s party was not affiliated with the Commerce Society, or Queen’s University, in any official capacity.

Bhavik Vyas, the president of the Commerce Society at Queen’s, has been frustrated watching the reaction to the photos, and the assumption that the party was in some way connected to his organization.

“The perception is that commerce students are racists, partiers and rich snobs. When I think of commerce, I think diverse, critical thinkers and constant learners,” he said.

The debate surrounding the party has been divisive. Benjamin Harper, who is a current bachelor of commerce student at Queen’s University, tweeted an article about the party with the caption “I’m watching my classmates discover that media pushes its agenda at the expense of facts.” He later tweeted a screenshot of a definition of racism and wrote “Racism is evil. Expanding its definition to go after anything that could offend is a disservice to victims of racism.”

Dr. Carl James, the Jean Augustine Chair in Education at York University, said students need “to be more critical and more conscious about their behavior and the implications of their actions.”

“I looked at the pictures and I keep thinking ‘What are they thinking? What do they want to convey and how do they understand the people and the culture that they’re trying to portray? And what has the university done in order to help them think through what they’re doing?’“ James said.

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While some have said the costumes were not racist, James said he “would not dismiss racism as something that might underlie these things.”

“You can tell people that go here kind of live in a bubble,” Dahir Dualeh, a first year student, told the Star. “A party like that could have easily happened without being racist, but people don’t have perspective. They think it’s a costume, but to others it’s not.”

Standing on the corner outside the John Deutsch University Centre, three first year engineering students debated what has happened over the last 24-hours. Colin Gill said the media blew the party out of proportion, while his friends Carter Gant and Jackson Kustec said the students must have known the costumes were wrong.

The student government at Queen’s said they hope to use the event as “an educational opportunity to engage all students in discussion about race and racism on Queen’s.”

“Over the coming days, we will be engaging with the University, faculty society leaders, and diverse groups on campus. Our goal is to find an appropriate forum for this conversation to take place.”

With files from Ellen Brait