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Few things can stop college students from raging hard—not even quasi-controversies over questionably offensive party names.On Saturday, Harvey Mudd College (one of the five Claremont Colleges) was host to "Mudd Goes Madd," a mad scientist-themed party. "Get covered in gallons of fluorescent (but washable!) paint," said the Facebook event. Sounds like it was a fun and washable time for all! However, on the day before the party, the Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) announced they had withdrew their funding for the event, citing the name as hurtful and offensive. "[W]e believe the name trivializes mental health and disability issues," said ASPC president Nico Kass in a statement.
"Your disregard of the concerns of the mental health community and their allies trivializes the issues that we deem extremely important to our community," the ASPC said in a separate statement to Mudd Goes Madd organizers, explaining their decision to pull funding. "Further, the exclusion of the mental health community in the discussion of allowing the event name is inappropriate."
Although ASPC felt like they were Doing The Right Thing by pulling out of the party, the student government body received some backlash for their white knighting. "I am actually bipolar and I am offended that people infantilize the whole issue of mental illness by suggesting we should be protected from anything that could damage our 'fragile' psyches," a student told Claremont Independent.
"Treating me like I'm five years old and trying to protect me from every possible trigger doesn't prepare me for the real world," an anonymous Claremont student said.
"This was definitely a win against overzealous PC culture," student Steven Glick told The College Fix. "We're in college—people here want to be treated like adults, not like kindergarteners."
The mad scientist theme of the party was a play on Harvey Mudd's reputation as a science and technology school. There were no reports of the other three Claremont Colleges (Scripps, Claremont McKenna, or Pitzer) withdrawing their support of the event.
