A few weeks ago, a freshman came home to find his door defaced with “I love cock” and “fag.” We can’t pretend that this was an isolated incident, tread lightly and call it “bias-related.” This was hate speech- the most recent to take its place in a silenced history of hate crimes at Wesleyan. We like to think that Wesleyan is an open-minded and accepting place, but acts of intimidation and violence make it clear that people are not safe to be who they are.
We’re sick of this bullshit. This is not an anomaly—just in the past few weeks, there have been rumors that students assualted and verbally harassed other students whom they perceived to be gay. There is a culture on this campus that allows for the silencing of hate crimes against students of color, women and queers.
We need to use our voices to break that silence. It is the responsibility of every member of this community to take a stand and make this campus safe. It’s not enough to say “that was fucked up” to your friends because it does not force anyone to be accountable. And it is the responsibility of the Administration to take measures beyond RA training and watered down “dialogue” intitiatives. It’s not enough to label hate crimes “bias-related incidents” in e-mails to the community several weeks after the incident. It’s not acceptable to market our school as Diversity University without a genuine institutional commitment to protecting those diverse groups. Gender neutral housing was one such commitment, but unfortunately that safe space was never allowed to exist. Administration, what are you going to do to make your students safe?
A hate crime against one person is a hate crime against the entire community and if one of us is unsafe, we are all unsafe. If you believe that hate crimes are wrong, you have to take action against them. Next time you hear someone say “that’s so gay” or “fag,” correct them. Even if they are just joking, they are creating a climate in which hate is acceptable.
And finally, please stop by the Campus Center any day at lunch this week to sign the campus-wide pledge against hate crimes. It’s up to us to make Wesleyan a place where hate and violence are not tolerated.
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