Lincoln and Magdalen Colleges at Oxford University in ‘cultural appropriation’ dispute over New Orleans and 1920s balls

Law student says if she were living in the past, the colleges are 'definitely not where you would find people of my gender, race and nationality'

Lincoln College insists its poster has been 'misinterpreted' by critics who also say it mimics a Mexican holiday (Lincoln Ball 2016/Facebook)

The University of Oxford has sparked a race row after two colleges outlined plans to hold end-of-year balls centered around the themes of New Orleans and the 1920s.

Lincoln College announced it will be whisking students “back in time to an age bursting with culture and spirit,” allowing students to “revel in the many delights of New Orleans” at its party in May 2016.

Amid allegations of cultural appropriation - according to Oxford’s independent student newspaper, Cherwell - the move has not only been branded “problematic,” but has also left critics wondering why the college is commemorating “an era of history steeped in racism.”

As well as this, one student took to Facebook to hit out at Magdalen College’s ball too.

Watch the trailer for Lincoln’s ball:

Announcing its commemoration ball’s theme for June, the Magdalen party’s committee said on its website: “We invite you to experience Magdalen: 1926… Can’t repeat the past? Why of course you can!”

Magdalen law student Arushi Grag, though, wrote on the event’s Facebook page: “1926, a college devoid of women and people of colour... what a place to be! Can't wait to go back in time!!!”

Originally from Lucknow in India, Garg explained to Cherwell how her demographic - woman of colour from a former colony which remains a developing country - makes her “less likely than others to uncritically long for a past that privileged some more than others.”

She added how it “would be nice” if Magdalen “cut down on the nostalgia a bit” and told the paper: “If we were reliving the past, the corridors of institutional spaces like Magdalen/Oxford is definitely not where you would find people of my gender, race, and nationality.”

Garg also explained how she has written to the organisers of the Magdalen event who are working with her to try and resolve the issue.

The Magdalen Commemoration Ball committee said it will not be expecting guests to dress in 1920s attire, and is “simply using it in order to create an enjoyable evening for our guests,” reported Cherwell.

Addressing its poster also - which has seemingly been accused of mimicking a Mexican holiday - the Lincoln committee denied using material based on ‘Dia de los Muertos’ (‘Day of the Dead’) - or any other aspect of Mexican culture - insisting it has been “misinterpreted” by critics.

Both committees have yet to respond to The Independent's request for comment, however the Lincoln ball committee told Cherwell it had based its decision to use the theme on an article by two scholars with “significant reputations on race relations.”

In a series of recent cultural appropriation allegations on campuses, the University of East Anglia banned “racist” Mexican sombrero hats from being distributed at a freshers’ event and, more recently, free yoga classes were pulled from a Canadian university for being an unacceptable “cultural appropriation” of a non-Western practice.