To the Editor:
I write to you as president of the Rainbow Alliance and as an undergraduate social work student, in response to the hate crime involving the Rainbow Alliance one month ago, as well as the article and the editorial printed about it in the Nov. 9 issue.
First, I would like to say that I am offended that the editorial staff would be so na’ve as to say that no one did a thing about this incident until one month after it occurred. This is an unfair statement and is simply untrue. There are other unmentioned factors that need to be taken into account.
Secondly, I am shocked to hear that the editorial staff would blame the victims for slow movement and inaction. This is most certainly unfair and unproductive in helping the victims recover from this experience and in moving any sort of resolution forward. I am also surprised at The University News and their naivet? in thinking that justice is ever delivered immediately.
As many members of the Saint Louis University community are aware, justice is, more times than not, a process that can take weeks, months or even years.
Finally, I would like to bring to the attention of the editors and the readership that incidents, such as these, actually do not occur often in the SLU community. However, it is for incidents, such as these, that the Rainbow Alliance exists: in order to help bring attention and justice to them. I hope that my writing will help others learn of this incident and prevent similar occurrences.
There is no one person, group of people or department at fault for taking an entire month to take official action in response to this hate crime. Yes, it is true that all persons ultimately involved in bringing this situation toward a solution did know about the incident the day it happened and should have taken immediate action, but it is not as simple as The University News makes it seem. All persons involved could have worked harder to handle this incident in a more timely fashion.
When the involved members of the Rainbow Alliance told me that this teacher came to the table and harassed them, I could have researched more diligently the information about what department I needed to take this matter to first. The adviser to the Rainbow Alliance, Matt LeBlanc, though he was out of town when the incident occurred and did not return until three weeks later, could have aided me with my research to find the proper person with whom to talk.
On the day of the incident, the BSC building manager alongside his superior, Phil Lyons, associate vice president of student life, were notified of this incident and looked at the surveillance tapes acquired. They could have contacted myself or Matt LeBlanc in regards to this, and we could have all worked together towards a resolution.
When Campus Ministry found out about this incident, they could have contacted me sooner with the helpful information they later provided, regarding who in the administration needed to be contacted. However, as it stands, none of us did any of these things on the first day. It instead took one month to coordinate our efforts and for that, I apologize.
I do not, however, apologize for the actions of the victims of this harassment and their so-called failure to report their victimization immediately. I do not in any way think it is acceptable to blame these students for not taking action promptly. Yes, it would have been helpful to have their statements gathered sooner in order to report it to the administration, but we must take into consideration the feelings that this incident elicited within these students before we judge the timeliness of their actions.
Furthermore, it is not solely the job of the students to protect themselves, when incidents such as these occur. This responsibility falls upon the Rainbow Alliance and the University as a whole. When these students were harassed in the BSC, they were shocked and confused. SLU provides a community in which we are constantly told that diversity, cultural competence, acceptance and education are valued above all else. We come to expect that everyone in the University community has this understanding, and we hold this in our minds as true.
When that professor approached the Rainbow Alliance table in the BSC and harassed these students, this mindset of acceptance, education and diversity was altered and the students were left feeling shocked. They were left feeling confused as to why this could happen at a place like SLU, a place where we are told that diversity and acceptance are held in high regard. It took these students some time to reflect upon this incident and come to the profound realization of the impacts of this professor’s actions toward them and the justice that they deserve as a result of it.
The students then had to make a responsible decision based upon all the possible outcomes of taking action toward justice and they had to decide if they were willing to accept them all. All the while, these students had to repeatedly relive the harassment they faced and deal with it each time they repeated their story to a new person they hoped could help them in their fight for justice. This was not an easy task for these students and I commend them for having the courage to come out and take “official” action toward justice, no matter how “late” they were in doing so.
Moreover, it is never acceptable to blame victims for inaction. To do this is in no way productive and actually serves to inhibit the healing process that needs to occur for each victim. To blame a victim for being victimized serves to make them feel ashamed for being victimized, rather than empowered enough to take action into their own hands.
As I alluded to above, it is not entirely the victim’s responsibility to seek justice. It is the responsibility of those who are in a position to help them. It is with that responsibility that organizations like the Rainbow Alliance and Saint Louis University are charged. Therefore, I take blame for this situation not being handled as soon as The University News deems necessary, and I again apologize.
I hope that some good can come out of this incident. While I regret that this incident happened at all, I hope that its occurrence will serve to educate the University community. I hope that this incident will not only educate people about this particular hate crime and that incidents such as these can occur in our community, but I hope that it will help students to gain a better understanding about what needs to be done if another hate crime occurs. I hope that students can learn that the administration is required and available to help students in these situations, but it takes cooperation and motivation from both sides to get things accomplished, especially in a timely fashion. I also hope that this incident will elicit within people a desire to learn more about Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender issues in general and become an even more educated and accepting university, as a result. The Rainbow Alliance has already taken steps toward this goal by recruiting more Safe Zone trainers and setting up a week’s worth of educational activities in honor of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, 2006.
Sincerely,
Jenna Wells
BSSW Senior
Rainbow Alliance President
