The rules of “Catch An Illegal Immigrant” are pretty similar to the rules of tag. The big exception, of course, is that one game requires a questionable sense of humor and a little racial insensitivity.
A conservative group at the University of Texas At Austin announced today that it would be hosting a “Catch An Illegal Immigrant” game on campus this week. The game will involve a few students wearing an “Illegal Immigrant” t-shirts while other students try to catch them. Any one who catches an “illegal immigrant” will get a $25 gift card and a false sense of accomplishment.
The game has obviously stirred up some controversy in Texas but that’s kind of the point. The University of Texas at Austin chapter of Young Conservatives announced the game on Facebook today saying that they wanted to start a conversation about illegal immigrants in the United States.
Lorenzo Garcia, the chairman of the youth group, told Buzzfeed: “I’ve been thinking about the event for a while since president Obama said he wanted to pursue amnesty after healthcare … It made me think about illegal immigration in general and how much they put into the system and how much they take. I thought it would be a good way to spark the debate at UT by having an event such as this.”
Of course, most people aren’t buying the “I want to start a conversation” argument and want the youth group to cancel the game.
UT Austin President Bill Powers hasn’t cancelled the event yet but he did say that the University did not support the game.
Powers said: “The proposed YCT event is completely out of line with the values we espouse at The University of Texas at Austin. Our students, faculty and the entire university work hard both to promote diversity and engage in a respectful exchange of ideas. The Wednesday event does not reflect that approach or commitment.”
While some students are protesting the “Catch An Illegal Immigrant” others have created a counter-event.
About 2000 people have already said that they were “going” to this event, about 7 times more than the “Catch An Illegal Immigrant” game.
Do you think the “Catch An Illegal Immigrant” game is racist?
Garcia said: “If we held a forum, if we did something more politically correct and held a forum or a panel discussion, we’d get about 5-10 people to show up … But if we did something like this, everybody’s talking about it.”
photo credit: Thomas Hawk via photopin cc
