At Williams College on Saturday, November 28th, 2009, a Junior Advisor in the Freshman Entry Mills-Dennett 1 notified security that the Entry Common Room had been vandalized some time that afternoon. The damage that was done to the Common Room was as follows: a jar of paint had been spilled throughout the kitchen, condiments were smeared across the floor, white boards were stolen from the doors to student rooms, phalluses were drawn in the neighboring entries, and the word “Fags” was painted on one of the walls. In light of this incident, members of the Dean’s Office, the College Council co-presidents, and the current Queer Life Coordinator Justin Adkins have held numerous forums to discuss the incident, student reactions, and the necessary steps to be taken to address the situation.
It is our intention to seek out the support of our peer institutions to help pressure Williams to take stronger action in light of this and other similar incidents as well as encourage our peer institutions to formulate action plans and to provide comprehensive programming that tackle homophobia and sexism on college campuses. We believe that the incident is an example of the underlying social issues at Williams College surrounding homophobia and sexism. Incidents like this have occurred in the past, but little to no action has been taken by the Williams Administration.
Members of the Queer Student Union and the Women’s Center have come together to formulate a strong response to the homophobic incident that occurred over Thanksgiving vacation. These organizations have created a list of demands that we intend to fight for throughout the aftermath of the event and in the following months. The demands are as follows: the establishment of a Gender and Sexualities Resource Center on campus; a more comprehensive LGBTQ/Women’s Issues oriented training for Junior Advisors; the availability of Gender Neutral Housing; the establishment of more Queer and Sexuality Studies courses and/or the appointment of a professor with the knowledge and ability to teach Queer and Sexuality Studies oriented courses within the Women’s and Gender Studies department; and the establishment of a Full Time Queer Life Coordinator Position (as the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center Director).
In order to ensure that these demands are met, members of the Queer Student Union and the Women’s Center have come together to claim and re-conceptualize the space in Hardy House, which is one of the buildings currently associated with the Williams Multicultural Center. We are committed to remaining in Hardy House until the demands are discussed and recognized as legitimate concerns by the Williams Administration. We will continue to fight for our demands until they are met.
Sincerely,
Tracey Vitchers ’10 Williams College Women’s Center Student Co-Chair
Michael Semensi ’12 Williams College Queer Student Union Treasurer
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