Stanford group's mission falls short

Abercrombie & Fitch, the overwhelmingly popular clothing manufacturer, has drawn fire from a group of Stanford University students who are enraged by an insensitive line of clothing.

Several T-shirts depicting Asians in a stereotypical manner, including one that read "Wong Brothers Laundry Service -- Two Wongs Can Make It White" -- complete with two smiling figures with slanted eyes and rice-paddy hats -- were pulled from the Abercrombie & Fitch Web site in response to the student protest.

A meeting was organized and led by the Asian-American Students Association (AASA) within a week of the T-shirt line's release.

"These offensive T-shirts are indicative of the blind eye that America continues to turn to racist portrayals of Asian-Americans," Stanford junior Toru Mino said. "We should take this opportunity to finally demand that these demeaning images no longer be tolerated in mainstream culture."

An Abercrombie & Fitch spokesperson said the T-shirts were designed "only to give people a chuckle" and that the company "thought Asians would love this T-shirt."

Stanford students want to organize and plan an effective way to act against the company. Abercrombie & Fitch has already pulled the shirts from the market. The students want more and are discussing a plan of action and a list of demands.

Our message is twofold:

1) Abercrombie & Fitch should stop selling racially insensitive clothing designs. A large company with a potentially diverse customer base should know better.

2) Stanford students should note that Abercrombie & Fitch is not the only company marketing insensitive clothing. Don't just target one company. Go after all of them.


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