A series of anti-gay incidents has led to an anti-hate rally on the campus of a small Illinois College.
Augustana College, a Private not-for-profit, college operated by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 2,309 students in Rock Island, Illinois was the scene of a rally attended by several hundred students in response to a series of anti-gay incidents on the Rock Island campus since the semester began.
PRISM — an advocacy group that supports gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students — had its mailbox destroyed and several students had harassing messages like “you are a gay faggot” scrawled on their dorm doors. And in a resident hall lounge, a student was quoted as saying "all homosexuals should die".
"I believe it was a true hate crime," said Augustana junior Elizabeth Janicek who attended the rally. "You don't say things like that to people you don't know anonymously without some very hurtful intentions."
Speakers at the rally voiced their defiance and their solidarity.
“The hateful have left their calling card,” said music professor John Hildreth. “Now we have a message for them: We will not see our community polluted by ignorance, stupidity, fear or hatred.”
“This is not what Augustana is representative of,” said Greg Stopka, the Student Government Association president. “We pride ourselves on being a welcoming campus. We are one community and an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.”
“We’re students, faculty and members of the community gathered together to say ‘not at this college,’ ” said John Maxson, the interim president of the College Democrats.
A statement from the schools President Steve Bahls who was out of town on business was read by Dean Jeff Abernathy. It stated, “Homophobic harassment has no place at Augustana and will not be tolerated in any way. Educational institutions, however, must do more than simply punish perpetrators and promulgate policies ... I urge faculty members, staff members and students to discuss the recent events on campus and the underlying problem of homophobia.” The statement added, "Augustana strongly believes that gay and lesbian people share with all others the worth that comes from being unique individuals created by God.”
Kirby Winn, Augustana’s director of public relations stated earlier, “All the way through the process, the college’s role is education,” he said. “People here realize the college is not insulated from bad behavior, and we hope to be judged by the nature of our response rather than the actions of people who are intolerant.”
The rally was a joint effort of PRISM, the Student Government Association, the College Democrats and Campus Ministries. Sources: Quad City Times, Universities.com, WQAD (Quad Cities), Gay News
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