Editor’s note: A previous version of this story was redacted containing the women’s names who were misidentified in the social post in order to protect their safety. The publication included the names in the story that proved to be incorrectly identified. The Daily Aztec regrets amplifying false allegations of individuals who had no involvement in the story. This story has been updated with more recent findings.
A TikToker with handles of “enamoradoalex_” issued a video on Feb. 13 regarding an altercation between four women and a street vendor near San Diego State University’s Viejas arena.
Edin Alex Enamorado claimed on social media that the women involved in this clip were affiliated with SDSU and were sorority members of Delta Gamma, an Epsilon Sigma Chapter at the university — this led to many users associating and tagging Delta Gamma on social media regarding the altercation.
The post also tagged SDSU’s social media accounts, Riley Kaufman, who filmed the original video and states no relation to the four women and YogaSix, a company in which one of the women filmed in the video works at.
“Let’s find (the four women) and hold them accountable,” the TikTok video concludes with.
View this post on Instagram
Hours after the video showing the women harassing Arguelles Alvarez, the street vendor was seen on Instagram with Enamorado — the TikToker with the enamoradoalex_ handle — and he described his experience with the four women that argued with him.
According to Arguelles Alvarez, the dispute occurred over the pricing of the hotdogs, which were $7. The women were upset with the cost and demanded Arguelles Alvarez for a cheaper price.
Arguelles Alvarez did not concede to the four women’s request, and he asked them to leave; however, they continued disrupting Arguelles Alvarez by touching, eating and throwing his food — this has led many to offer support for Arguelles Alvarez and street vendors.
View this post on Instagram
Hispanic-led organizations at SDSU, such as Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán (MEChA de SDSU) and the Latinx Student Union issued a statement on Instagram, condemning the four women’s behavior.
The Latinx Student Union cited the women’s mistreatment of Arguelles Alvarez as “white privilege” in a deleted post on Instagram.
“Attending an institution does not make anyone better than the community members outside of SDSU. What kind of precedent does this establish in our university environment? How do we know this behavior won’t be directed toward students of color? As an organization that promotes cultural awareness, we do severely condemn any harassment towards any street vendor both on and off campus,” MEChA de SDSU wrote on Instagram. “We severely condemn the action of these women who are part of an organization that claims to ‘do good,’ and be ‘socially responsible.’”
This post has now been updated by MEChA de SDSU.
However, this information was revealed to be false by Delta Gamma on Instagram, who switched its account to private immediately after the video release of the four women harassing Arguelles Alvarez, to protect its members and the one who was misidentified.
Six hours after the video was posted on social media, Delta Gamma issued a statement saying that the women shown in the video have no affiliation with the sorority and were misidentified as members of the organization.
“The behavior of those in the video does not align with Delta Gamma or SDSU values,” Delta Gamma wrote on Instagram. “It is clear that there is still work to be done to ensure our community is a safe and welcoming place for all, and Delta Gamma will be here to champion that progress.”
No women shown in the video has any affiliation to the university according to an SDSU twitter post.
We urge anyone with information about the incident and who can confirm identities of anyone who was involved to share details as soon as possible with SDSU’s Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities via the online reporting form: https://t.co/ZZ8Hd4VNwO pic.twitter.com/mnThdJPc0d
— San Diego State University (@SDSU) February 14, 2023
Kaufman as well has no student email address linked to SDSU.
Enamorado, a street vendor rights activist, has promoted Arguelles Alvarez’s Venmo page to showcase his support alongside other SDSU organizations.
MECha de SDSU has issued an update to its post regarding the incident, apologizing to Delta Gamma. However, the organization “demands” immediate action from SDSU.
