A photo of a Cal Poly fraternity member is sparking controversy.
The Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity is responding to a picture of one of its members in blackface.
The photo, reportedly posted to Facebook by a local resident, shows two fraternity members during the university’s PolyCultural Weekend.
One of the members has a black-painted face.
The Facebook user says the photo was originally posted by a professor.
The fraternity has apologized for the photo, saying it was from a competition April 7 between teams and each team was represented by a color– one of those being black.
Lambda Chi Alpha sent a letter to Cal Poly’s student newspaper, "Mustang News," saying in part: "We would like to sincerely apologize for any harm caused by the photograph taken at a brotherhood event April 7th … We are extremely sorry and embarrassed for failing to recognize the racial impacts this brought forth. The representation depicted in the photograph was absolutely unacceptable."
Cal Poly released the following statement to KSBY, "The university finds deplorable any acts that would seek to hurt, offend, intimidate, or frighten any member of our campus community. The university is aware of the posting and is investigating the matter at this time."
KSBY has also reached out to the fraternity, but has not yet heard back.
