Homophobic vandalism found in residence halls
by Timothy Cama | Llama Ledger Staff
Issue date: 12/5/07 Section: News
The LGBTQ community experienced what some are calling overt homophobia recently when a display celebrating prominent members of the queer community was vandalized.
Almost a month later, a Peer Advocate found another offensive message in a bathroom, also targeting the queer community.
The vandalized board came to residence director Nicole Darcangelo's attention on Thursday, Nov. 8, when a Student Affairs staff member took it down and brought it to her, she said. It was displayed on a bulletin board next to the main entrance of Hill House, near the parking lot.
After Associate Dean of Student Affairs Bob Graves informed the community of the vandalism through global email, groups such as Faculty Senate and QueerSA have come out to condemn what happened and reinforce Simon's Rock's position when it comes to issues of sexual identity.
Anyone wishing to see the poster and what was written on it can do so, said Darcangelo, who keeps it in her office.
"Fags suck (cock)" was written on the poster in black pen, while "homosexuals? Don't they belong in hell (being facetious)" was written in a nearby spot.
Rich Vaden, a senior and president of QueerSA, learned the news from Graves' email.
"My head almost exploded," he said.
Vaden immediately emailed Darcangelo, who is also the staff advisor for QueerSA, expressing his anger in the situation and his desire to formulate a response on behalf of QueerSA.
"I was frustrated," Vaden said, adding that being both a senior and the president of QueerSA, he should have known about the vandalism prior to Graves' email.
As for the vandalism itself, Vaden was angry. He brought up the issue in his BA seminar that Monday, at which point professor Nancy Yanoshak agreed to bring the issue to Provost's Council, of which she is a part.
At the Tuesday, Nov. 13 meeting, Yanoshak and Graves, who is also a member of the Council, decided to bring the issue to Faculty Senate the next day. Faculty Senate resolved to send out a global email "to express our deep concern about the vandalism."
"We are a small community bound not only by common intellectual pursuits but by affection and mutual respect," Chair Maryann Tebben wrote. "Verbal attacks on any one of us threaten the freedom and well-being of all of us, and condoning such acts diminishes us all."
Meanwhile, many faculty members brought the issue to the attention of their classes, including Hal Holladay, according to Graves.
Vaden also sent out an email on behalf of QueerSA after discussing it at a meeting. He thanked faculty for bringing the issue to light, and also harshly condemned the vandalism.
"It is important to understand that this was NOT an isolated incident," Vaden wrote, asking members of the community to speak up if they notice similar acts.
Other QueerSA posters have been vandalized in the past, Vaden said. Darcangelo says that not only have QueerSA posters been vandalized, but posters for other minority groups, such as those dealing with issues of race or sex, have also been vandalized in the past.
Some students believe that the vandalism may have been a joke, Vaden, who is gay, said, but added that "it's not funny."
"It's horribly offensive," Darcangelo, also gay, said, adding that a community in which these acts are committed is "not the kind of community I want to live in."
Vaden and Darcangelo are also quick to note that the vandalism occurred the night of Diversity Day, and both speculate as to the connection between the two events.
Darcangelo added that at the Community Meeting that day, a gay first-year student asked why issues of diversity have to be discussed at Simon's Rock.
"This," she says, pointing to the vandalized poster, "is why."
In what Darcangelo describes as a similar incident, a sign in a Kendrick House bathroom was found to have been vandalized this past weekend. At a recent House Council meeting, residents discussed what PA Jochai Ben-Avie found at 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
On a sign that usually says "Always flush" in the hall four bathroom, Ben-Avie found that someone had written "out fag enablers." Ben-Avie emailed Residence Life Director Tom Coote, as well as notifying the Anti-Harassment Anti-Discrimination Committee.
Student Affairs will not investigate Sunday's incident, nor will anyone investigate last month's vandalism.
Contact the author: tcama@llamaledger.com
Almost a month later, a Peer Advocate found another offensive message in a bathroom, also targeting the queer community.
The vandalized board came to residence director Nicole Darcangelo's attention on Thursday, Nov. 8, when a Student Affairs staff member took it down and brought it to her, she said. It was displayed on a bulletin board next to the main entrance of Hill House, near the parking lot.
After Associate Dean of Student Affairs Bob Graves informed the community of the vandalism through global email, groups such as Faculty Senate and QueerSA have come out to condemn what happened and reinforce Simon's Rock's position when it comes to issues of sexual identity.
Anyone wishing to see the poster and what was written on it can do so, said Darcangelo, who keeps it in her office.
"Fags suck (cock)" was written on the poster in black pen, while "homosexuals? Don't they belong in hell (being facetious)" was written in a nearby spot.
Rich Vaden, a senior and president of QueerSA, learned the news from Graves' email.
"My head almost exploded," he said.
Vaden immediately emailed Darcangelo, who is also the staff advisor for QueerSA, expressing his anger in the situation and his desire to formulate a response on behalf of QueerSA.
"I was frustrated," Vaden said, adding that being both a senior and the president of QueerSA, he should have known about the vandalism prior to Graves' email.
As for the vandalism itself, Vaden was angry. He brought up the issue in his BA seminar that Monday, at which point professor Nancy Yanoshak agreed to bring the issue to Provost's Council, of which she is a part.
At the Tuesday, Nov. 13 meeting, Yanoshak and Graves, who is also a member of the Council, decided to bring the issue to Faculty Senate the next day. Faculty Senate resolved to send out a global email "to express our deep concern about the vandalism."
"We are a small community bound not only by common intellectual pursuits but by affection and mutual respect," Chair Maryann Tebben wrote. "Verbal attacks on any one of us threaten the freedom and well-being of all of us, and condoning such acts diminishes us all."
Meanwhile, many faculty members brought the issue to the attention of their classes, including Hal Holladay, according to Graves.
Vaden also sent out an email on behalf of QueerSA after discussing it at a meeting. He thanked faculty for bringing the issue to light, and also harshly condemned the vandalism.
"It is important to understand that this was NOT an isolated incident," Vaden wrote, asking members of the community to speak up if they notice similar acts.
Other QueerSA posters have been vandalized in the past, Vaden said. Darcangelo says that not only have QueerSA posters been vandalized, but posters for other minority groups, such as those dealing with issues of race or sex, have also been vandalized in the past.
Some students believe that the vandalism may have been a joke, Vaden, who is gay, said, but added that "it's not funny."
"It's horribly offensive," Darcangelo, also gay, said, adding that a community in which these acts are committed is "not the kind of community I want to live in."
Vaden and Darcangelo are also quick to note that the vandalism occurred the night of Diversity Day, and both speculate as to the connection between the two events.
Darcangelo added that at the Community Meeting that day, a gay first-year student asked why issues of diversity have to be discussed at Simon's Rock.
"This," she says, pointing to the vandalized poster, "is why."
In what Darcangelo describes as a similar incident, a sign in a Kendrick House bathroom was found to have been vandalized this past weekend. At a recent House Council meeting, residents discussed what PA Jochai Ben-Avie found at 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
On a sign that usually says "Always flush" in the hall four bathroom, Ben-Avie found that someone had written "out fag enablers." Ben-Avie emailed Residence Life Director Tom Coote, as well as notifying the Anti-Harassment Anti-Discrimination Committee.
Student Affairs will not investigate Sunday's incident, nor will anyone investigate last month's vandalism.
Contact the author: tcama@llamaledger.com
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