ASU asks students to avoid blackface at 'blackout' game

TEMPE, Ariz., Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Arizona State University is asking students to refrain from face painting for the annual "blackout" football game to avoid comparisons to blackface performers.

The annual "blackout" game, which is scheduled for Saturday, typically involves fans dressing in all black to show support for the ASU Sun Devils as they don their all-black uniforms, but the school is taking steps to avoid the controversy that resulted last year when some students painted their faces for the event.

The face painting was blasted by critics for its similarity to the racist tradition of blackface, which involved performers painting their faces black to do stereotyped impersonations of people of color.

The school's African-American student coalition and other leaders called for the school to ban all face painting at games following the incident, but the school instead issued a request for fans to not paint their faces without imposing an official ban.

The school's Sun Devil Athletics website reiterated the request ahead of Saturday's game.

"As an inclusive and forward-thinking university, it is important for us to foster an environment in which everyone feels safe and accepted," the website said. "Therefore, we discourage the use of face paint at any event, whether the theme is black, maroon, gold or white, and ask our fans to show their Sun Devil Pride in other ways."

"We look forward to working with all of Sun Devil Nation on continuing to show our support in ways that all of us can appreciate and embrace," the message said.