“It denies history and portrays racially minority women as perpetually wanting sex, as the willing objects of white conquest,” said Light. She argued that the appropriation of a Native American stereotype is especially problematic because of the history of oppression and appropriation by white colonists.

However, students discussed the merits of donning a different identity, so long as it is done respectfully.

“I believe you should be able to dress up as someone, even someone of a different race, if you admire them,” said Keyanna Y. Wigglesworth ’16, recruitment and publicity chair for HCSD. “You can dress up like Beyoncé, but you don’t have to paint your skin black to do so.”

The event is part of “De-Stereotype Me Week,” organized by the group as a means of addressing different issues that exist at Harvard but are not necessarily vocalized.

“We borrowed the idea from someone in the Sustained Dialogue network,” said Park, “and the idea was that people would wear t-shirts or buttons that expressed one way they defy the stereotype. For example, ‘I am a legacy and I am on financial aid.’” Students are encouraged to wear their pins or buttons this coming Friday.

“We’re hoping that through our discussions of personal experiences we can actually build real understanding and empathy as opposed to staying in the real academic or political debates that we see a lot [on campus],” said Park.