"It's just a party."

That's the excuse being used to dismiss the actions of Queen's University students who recently hosted a costume party featuring racially stereotypically outfits.

Photos from the party -- with students dressed as everything from Buddhist monks to Viet Cong guerrillas to Middle Eastern sheiks -- were shared on social media and have since garnered mainstream attention.

What concerns me, maybe even more than the party itself, is the collective shrug of friends and colleagues when faced with the images.

"It's just a party. They're having fun. They're not trying to offend anyone."