Disturbing Intolerance

Mather House Tutor resigns in face of homophobic vandalism

Last Tuesday, K. Kyriell Muhammad announced his intention to resign from his position as resident tutor of Mather House after a rash of homophobic acts of vandalism this year. Muhammad's departure at the end of the semester will be a loss to the entire community but is particularly a blow to the 300-plus members of Mather House who had signed a pledge in October endorsing non-discrimination in order to show their support for Muhammad.

The homophobic graffiti scrawled on Muhammad's door last week, the fourth such personally directed attack he has faced this semester and the catalyst in his decision to resign, was the first such incident to occur since the pledge was signed. Muhammad, the advisor to the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Supporters' Alliance (BGLTSA), has been the focus of the recent homophobic vandalism in Mather. But such incidents have also plagued two other Houses this semester.

These acts of homophobic graffiti in Winthrop, Mather and Adams Houses this year are the first in recent memory. In this sense, they are isolated incidents that do not reflect a prevailing homophobic sentiment on campus. As the student-initiated "We Live Here Together" pledge posted in Mather Dining Hall attests, those who advocate tolerance make up the overwhelming majority of students.

Still, crimes motivated by hate--even in the smallest amounts--sends a clear message of intolerance to the entire gay community. Unfortunately, because the acts appear to be the work of one or a few isolated individuals and do not reflect a campus-wide sentiment, the House Masters and administration can do little but continue to condemn the incidents strongly.

Every community must inevitably grapple with hateful and malicious crimes by lone individuals, but that does not make the current situation more palatable for the gay members of our community who now feel that much less comfortable in a place they should feel is their home. While it is frustrating not to have any recourse to action, the strong communal condemnation these acts have received offer the hope that those who committed the hate crimes will realize that it is they who have no place in our community.

DISSENT

Search Harder for Vandal

The staff does not go far enough in calling for the House Masters and administration to intensify the investigation to find who has committed this vandalism and now caused Muhammad's resignation. Perhaps it is too late, but for the next unfortunate act of intolerance on campus, the administration should work harder at catching criminals and removing them from our community.

--Adam I. Arenson '01,

Meredith B. Osborn '02