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Loading ...University rallies to support gay students following attacks
10.28.2008 2:52pm EDT
(Pullman, Washington) Hundreds of students at the Washington State University wore red Tuesday to show support for gay students who were attacked earlier this month.
The students held a noon rally on the campus and then marched to the administration building calling for greater protections for gays at the university.There have been no arrests in the three separate attacks.
In one of the assault three men wearing Halloween masks knocked a gay man to the ground and kicked him repeatedly. Police said that the man suffered a collapsed lung.
Victims of the two other attacks were not seriously hurt. In all three instances anti-gay remarks were made by the assailants but police do not know if the three attacks were committed by the same people.
Two of the attacks occurred on campus. The third took place just outside the campus.
If the attackers are found they will likely be charged with hate crimes a Pullman Police spokesperson said.
State university police are suggesting that students should not walk alone; that they walk in well-lit areas and at times when there are other students around.
The police also suggest that students worried about their safety should campus police call for escorts.
This makes no sense at all that college students have to live in fear on thier own campus. As a current senior in high school this makes me wounder if I’m really preparred for college and what I should expect.
Not surprising as Eastern Washington, like most of Idaho is a Mormon strong hold.
I was raised in the LDS church and it is scarey to think that the moment I come out that the whole church will just abandon me for being who I am.
While there are Mormons here on the WSU campus, they cannot be blamed for these attacks. Homophobia and transphobia can be blamed. Heterosexism can be blamed. But Mormons? Seriously? That’s your response?
The LDS Church is well known for it’s anti-gay stance. Not to blame them for the incidents at WSU, but it’s a well known fact that Mormonism and homosexuality don’t mix well. The LDS Church is the major backer of the anti-gay marriage amendment in California. Why a church based in Utah needs to enshrine their religious beliefs into the California Constitution is beyond my comprehension.
I agree with Sara Mae, it’s less about the Mormon faith and more about a fear of those who are “different.” I thought the rally today went very well and it’s great to see the LGBTQA community rallying together and unifying to stand up and say this won’t be tolerated.
Everyone. Wonderful points. Kudos to you. It is unfortunate that these hate crimes often go unmentioned my major news sources. But, Can we really call this selective? No one individual can actually say yes or no to this statement. But it is rather coincidental considering the main financial support of many mass media sources.
Regardless of the environment that we are dealing with, there is no need to live in fear. For you high schoolers on the board, you definitely have a different situation. The people whom you attend school with are not adults regardless of what their bodies tell them and therefore cannot make truly, unbiased, rational decision. For the rest of my fellow bloggers, hate is a self-generating monster that needs to be stopped. I don’t necessarily think this is a GOD-derived sense of power pushed by some religious groups, though I can’t say that isn’t the case either. Basically, we as humans make a choice and that choice is to let bygones be bygones or not. It seems that we in the liberal front often mistake our ground and make statements that are corrupt and also damaging to our allies. We must not classify this as homophobia, transphobia, or even heterosexism as those are the same classifications or derived classifications that we often hate being grouped into. Let’s be human. this is a nation of hate and greed and lust and power. We will never win the war against these as they are part of human nature. Hate, is part of human nature. What we can do is ease tension and increase education. This is all self-evident to us but often misguided in the wrong hands. Lets preach peace and harmony and the world will listen. Maybe not today, but maybe someday. Optimism is a very powerful force that can carry us through any torture. Let us not label our allies as being heterosexists, because as a heterosexual, they are going to be heterosexist. Just as homosexuals will be homosexualist. We prefer to be around those that make us feel comfortable. Lets start with being humans and go from there.