Squandrous
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Hate Crime at Georgetown University
In one of those “I can’t believe it happened in my backyard” moments, a student at Georgetown University, my former college, has been charged with assaulting a student simply because he was gay. (Here’s a link to the video on NBC.)
This is stunning news to say the least, as I always found GU to be a very tolerant and accepting school — in the wake of 9/11, while hate crimes were occurring against Muslims all around the District of Columbia, the GU campus was a safe haven where debate was civil and discussion was intellectual. I felt safe as a minority at GU as opposed to other schools in the country, and had heard the same sentiment echoed by many other minority groups at Georgetown over my years there.
Here’s a letter that I received from the GU Pride Executive Board yesterday:
Dear LGBTQA Hoyas and Allies,
As you may have found out from watching or reading the news tonight or by the presence of TV news crews at the gates, on September 9th a Georgetown student was savagely beaten—requiring hospitalization—by another Georgetown student simply because he was gay. The student who attacked him was arrested and charged today with simple assault elevated to a hate crime by the MPD.
We, the Pride Board, are all shocked, saddened, and outraged that such a heinous crime could have occurred on our beloved Hilltop.
Unfortunate as it may be, it takes an event like this to make us realize that violence against LGBTQ individuals, and even those merely perceived to be LGBTQ, continues to be an enormous problem on even the safest of America´s streets and college campuses.
Although it is tempting to believe that such a hate crime would have never occurred at Georgetown, we must now deal with the reality that this heinous crime has indeed happened. The safe and welcoming atmosphere of our university, particularly towards LGBTQ students, has been severely threatened. We as LGBTQA Hoyas and allies must not under any circumstances permit such an offense to be tolerated. Pride intends to do whatever it takes to establish our campus as a place where violence, especially that motivated by bigotry and hate, is not tolerated.
To that end Pride board members will be in Red Square all day tomorrow distributing information and statistics on hate crimes and bias incidents against LGBTQ individuals at Georgetown and in the District of Columbia. We are seeking your help in demonstrating a resolute and unwavering stance against violence tomorrow in Red Square.
Moreover, the Pride Board is currently working with other student organizations to organize a “Once Is Enough” rally to take place at 1:00 pm in Red Square, on Monday, October 1. Lastly, our entirely student-run peer support group, OutSpoken, will facilitate discussion and provide a forum in which you can voice your feelings on this travesty Tuesday, October 2, at 9PM during its regularly scheduled time.
Sincerely,
Scott Chessare & the GU Pride Executive Board
If anybody at GU is reading this, can you please let me know what new steps the school is taking to make sure that the campus remains an inclusive and tolerant environment for all students?
