Political Costumes Amuse, Inflame Franklin Street Crowd

Many costumed partyers donned American flags and other patriotic paraphernalia, but some chose to dress more politically, wearing Osama bin Laden or President Bush costumes.

Mike Holmes, a sophomore at UNC-Wilmington, dressed like bin Laden and had a large red target painted on his white robes.

Although Holmes' costume was anti-bin Laden, he said he knew not to expect smooth sailing through the Franklin Street crowd.

Holmes said a lot of people laughed at his costume, and a lot of people wanted pictures taken with him, but some passers-by reacted by calling him foul names or pretending to beat him up.

"I've been really scared all night," he said. "I've been making sure no one's gonna come and deck me."

Another student garnered passionate responses of a different kind. Complete with a head mask, UNC-Chapel Hill sophomore Caleb Ksanznak was disguised as President Bush. Ksanznak said he chose the costume because he supports what Bush is doing in Afghanistan.

Responses on Franklin Street were all positive, Ksanznak said, "At least a hundred people have told me they support what I'm doing in Afghanistan," he said. "I've had a hundred pictures taken."

Another person wearing a President Bush costume included a fake bin Laden dummy attached to the front of his body. In "Bush's" hands was a rope that was tied around "bin Laden's" genitalia. This reveler refused to comment, but passers-by showed a generally positive response to his message.

While some people dressed in politically-charged costumes to attract attention, N.C. State University freshman Sean Reibert said he was irritated when his costume was mistaken for bin Laden. "People yell out `Osama bin Laden!' said Reibert, who was dressed as a rabbi. "They assume it from the stuff I wear."

Reibert said he had not anticipated that people were going to interpret his costume incorrectly. He attributed it to ignorance on the part of others.

"Their ignorance bothers me a little bit because they just judge without knowing anything," Reibert said. "Plus, it's almost like an insult to call somebody that now."

Tony Oakley, Major of Operations for the Chapel Hill Police Department, said there were no violent incidents related to political costumes. "We were worried about somebody attacking somebody that would be dressed like that," he said. "But we didn't have to deal with that, thank goodness."

Oakley also said the police department asked for sensitivity in costume choices. "We wanted people to wear costumes that weren't inflammatory," he said.

But while showing general sensitivity, the University community could not refrain from expressing their opinions regarding U.S. current events. Holmes said the idea to dress as bin Laden just came into his head.

Holmes described his thought process as "`Hey, I'll be that guy on the news.'"

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.