We report that the University of Minnesota  apologized for a “Galactic Fiesta” bowling party that offended the usual suspects.

And, as with much else in life, the reason for that anger can be traced back….simply by following the money.

The University of Minnesota wasn’t responding to any campus outcry when it formally apologized for a “Galactic Fiesta” party that it claimed was offensive to Latinos.

Rather, it may have been trying to pacify an outside activist who was using the party to demand more funding for ethnic studies, according to The College Fix’s review.

A voting member of the student government told The Fix that “perhaps” a third of students even knew about the glow-in-the-dark bowling party, sponsored by the student government, which featured sombreros, ponchos and the school mascot, Goldy Gopher, dressed in traditional Mexican garb.

Students received a puzzling email from Danita Brown Young, vice provost and dean of students, on Nov. 12 that claimed the party “caused concern among several members of our campus community.”

…The student only learned what was considered offensive two to three days after Young’s apology: A letter written by an alumna was making the rounds.

“Sent this email to UMN administrators, [let me know] if you’re down to send an email in support, I’ll share email addresses,” says the letter from Idalia Robles De León, a doctoral student in “Chicana and Chicano studies” at the University of California-Santa Barbara.

Though De León initially posted her letter on her Facebook profile and references it in her email, she has since changed her privacy settings to hide her posts from the public.

…De León may have shown her deeper agenda with a suggestion about how the school can respond to the imbroglio: by hiring a new full-time faculty member in the Department of Chicano and Latino Studies and restoring “the Community Liaison position to at least a 75% appointment.”

The Minnesota Daily reported this week that the department is “running on fumes,” with only one full-time faculty member after another left for Arizona State University in the spring. The department didn’t make the list this fall for which could hire new faculty.

According to the Daily, department faculty have accused the school of shortchanging diversity by underfunding the department.

In addition to De León’s letter, student Kenneth Gonzales wrote an op-ed in the Daily suggesting that Young’s letter to the campus – not any homegrown outrage – was the spark that created a controversy….