(The College Fix) — Someone reported a University of Minnesota fraternity to the campus Bias Response and Referral Network for a sign that said “Drinko de Mayo,” referencing the Mexican holiday.
The unidentified person turned in the report last year on May 1, according to newly obtained bias response team documents. The College Fix acquired more than 100 reports submitted between July 30, 2024 and March 13, 2026.
The documents do not list the resolution of the complaint and The Fix could not locate any further information about the controversy in the campus newspaper. However, the complainant said the sign “perpetuate[s] anti-Mexican hate.”
Cinco de Mayo festivities are meant to celebrate Mexico’s victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla in 1862.
The College Fix has long documented complaints about parodies on the day.
In 2013, Mexican student leaders at Northwestern complained:
“Drinking tequila shots, eating tacos, and wearing sombreros do not commemorate Mexican culture; on the contrary, that offends, marginalizes, and isolates many of our friends, classmates, and community members, and casts our entire community in poor light.”
In 2014, students at the University of California Davis also protested a “Cinco de Drinko” campus party, leading to its cancellation.
Even wearing construction outfits around May 5 can draw accusations of racism.
The May 2017 party hosted by a University of Chicago fraternity had nothing to do with Cinco de Mayo — it was meant to riff on the two years of construction on the frat house.
The Fix reported in 2017:
“The left-wing Latino student group MEChA issued a veiled threat May 4 to anyone who might violate ‘the fine line between celebrating culture on a national holiday and undermining the cultural dignity of a group through ignorant and ill-intentioned appropriation.’ (Note to MEChA: May 5 is not a national holiday in Mexico.)
After ‘individuals wearing hard hats, reflective construction vests, and overalls’ were spotted at the party, several multicultural organizations penned an open letter calling the party ‘racially insensitive.'”
The latest report to the University of Minnesota is not even the first time someone found a reason to get upset about a supposed intrusion into Hispanic culture.
In August 2023, an anonymous person reported philosophy Professor Valerie Tiberius for using the phrase “piñata of shame” in a Washington Post essay.
Writing about her father’s decision to abandon a goal of learning Spanish, Tiberius wrote: “He seemed a little melancholy about it but mostly relieved that he no longer had this piñata of shame hanging over his head.”
“Piñata of shame” is a creative phrase — maybe the professor should trademark it and sell t-shirts to UMinn frat bros who indulge too much at a “Drinko de Mayo” party.
This article was originally published by The College Fix and reprinted here with permission.
Matt Lamb | The College Fix
Matt has previously worked at Students for Life of America, Students for Life Action and Turning Point USA. While in college, he wrote for The College Fix as well as his college newspaper, The Loyola Phoenix. He holds a B.A. from Loyola University-Chicago and an M.A. from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He lives in northwest Indiana with his family.
