On January 17, 2011, America celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a day off. However, at the University of California, Irvine, dining services celebrated a different way. According to a Jan. 27 report in the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County university’s dining services wanted to serve “comforting food” that corresponded with the holiday, so they chose a chicken-and-waffle night. The element which touched off a racial-sensitivity firestorm, however, was the sign above the food that read, “MLK Holiday Special: Chicken and Waffles.”

Ricardo Sparks, the co-chairman of the school’s Black Student Union, raised the issue. Sparks was offended by not just the food being served, but by the sign above it. On his Facebook page, Sparks posted, “Yes, the OC is very racist. There’s a bigger picture to all of this because it’s more than just giving the okay to an MLK chicken-and-waffles night. There is a system that allows ignorance like this to continue. For Black students on this campus to feel uncomfortable.”

The chefs at Pippin Commons, the dining hall at the 22,000 student university which put the meal together at last minute are not being reprimanded for their decision, according to the LAT report. However, Sparks plans to protest the dining commons and hopes his fellow members of the Black Student Union will join, according to The OC Weekly.

Aramark Corporation, the Philadelphia-based company that provides food services to UCI, is also taking the blame for the offensive measure, along with UCI dining services.

Cathy Lawhon, a UC Irvine spokeswoman, stated that the school, which is only 20 percent white and is 49 percent Asian, according to College Board figures, values diversity.

“UC Irvine and Aramark have great respect for the diverse backgrounds, values and beliefs that exist within the campus community. We apologize to anyone who was offended and have taken steps to ensure this does not happen again”.

The University of Massachusetts likely won’t have to worry about a controversy like this happening at dining commons across campus. Ken Toong, director of UMass’ Dining Services, stated that dining services puts its menu combinations through research groups, which ensure no menu items will stir passions as they did in California.

“At UMass, for every menu, especially special themed menus, we have a group that researches the food choices to make sure that what we put out won’t offend anyone.”  Though Pippin Commons’ staff may not be remonstrated, Toong said that if such an incident happened in Amherst, his staff would certainly be cracked down on.

“UC Irvine should be more sensitive about this,” he said. “We would not do this to offend students, it’s common sense,” he said.

When asked how the dining commons celebrates cultural holidays without offending students, he pointed out the Chinese New Year menu that was served last Thursday.

“We will have food from every part of the country to represent all different cultures of China, but we won’t have just one entrée to represent China”.

UMass also celebrates Black History Month, but, Toong said, “Fried chicken will not be on the menu.”

Although it may seem like a big deal on paper, most students haven’t even heard of it, said Amanda Toothacre, a senior at UCI.

“To me it kind of sounds like an overreaction, and that not much will happen with it. I have to admit that I looked it up online to get a bit more info, that’s how little I’ve heard of it,” she stated.

The backlash against the chicken-controversy, said Toothacre, hasn’t drawn too much attention on-campus and she said none of her friends had heard about the slip-up, either.

Claire Reid Kiss can be reached at [email protected].