So, these 2 students at UCSB are irritated that "Vanilla People" have been wandering around campus wearing sombreros. They feel that having Crackers wear sombreros is demeaning to the hispanic culture:

This ad, along with the mad sombrero-wearing, reiterates to us the cluelessness with which people around UCSB engage in activities involving exoticism, racism and cultural exploitation. More importantly, the ad identifies UCSB's explicit role in perpetuating cultural stereotypes.

OK, now I might be able to let this slide and say these brave college students are just trying to protect the hispanic culture from brutal and unjust destruction by white anglo saxon persons. Let it slide, that is, if I hadn't just spent 4 days on a cruise ship to Mexico. While I was actually on foreign soil, every REAL Mexican that I ran into tried to sell me a sombrero, a pancho, or a pinata shaped like a bull. Maybe the real Mexicans didn't get the memo that Honkey isn't supposed to be sold anything that he might actually wear, thereby demeaning the hispanic culture in the process. Explain to me why I am "bringing home a cultural souvenir" if I buy a sombrero in Mexico, but am engaged in "cultural stereotyping" if I wear a sombrero as a part of some stupid promotion in southern California? The authors of the letter to the editor actually sum it up the best:

Now some of you reading this might be immediately tempted to dismiss our commentary as some "PC" reaction to what you might perceive as a rather harmless appropriation of Mexican culture. For those of you who just don't get it, consider a modest proposal.

Those of us who "just don't get it" are apparently those who don't agree with the authors. The "modest proposal" entails changing the mascot of USCB into a white, puke stained surfer dude and calling him the hispanic equivalent of "honkey". Suits me fine. Anything to make them stop whining about the damn sombreros would be just peachy with me.