A community forum yesterday on the implications of an anti-homosexual flier sent to the Dartmouth Area Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Organization deteriorated into a tense debate that prompted a few DaGLO members to leave, one in tears.
One member of DaGLO, who was outspoken in her disappointment with the forum, left visibly upset.
"I am incredibly frustrated by the dynamics that this discussion has taken," she said. "The issue today is how we are going to combat the hate that exists."
DaGLO organized the panel discussion and forum to discuss a flier sent to the organization last week promoting a speech titled, "Let's talk about faggots." The flier stated the meeting would address topics such as "Is it OK to shoot gays?"
Both students and faculty expressed concern that the discussion was too combative in nature and not conducive to an open forum where College community members could voice their concerns.
"There have been very disturbing trends in this discussion today," Sean Donohue '96 said. "There should be a willingness not to engage in attacks."
Aleph Henestrosa '96 questioned why students were leaving the forum given that it was supposed to be an open means of communication to discuss the issue at hand.
"They felt assaulted -- that's very real," History Professor Annelise Orleck, a panelist, said.
But Anthony Lightfoot '92 said, "Because we live in the United States, where we have freedom of speech, we have to accept certain things."
Lightfoot posed the first question to members of DaGLO after brief speeches by the five panel members, touching off a tense debate between audience members and panelists.
"Why is it that you feel the need to broadcast [your homosexuality] to engender sympathy?" Lightfoot asked DaGLO members.
Lightfoot questioned the need for a special support system for homosexuals at the College in response to DaGLO's request for an administrator for gay, lesbian and bisexual concerns.
He said that other groups who have also been oppressed have not asked for an administrator to oversee their specific concerns.
But Donohue said, "This is not a contest of who's been repressed more. We need to condemn all hatred that goes on this campus."
English Professor Tom Luxon said, "Making oneself liable to becoming target to hate speech, hate mail, does not require that you are homosexual."
"The beginning is with the hate, not with the 'queers,' " he said.
Luxon said, as evidence of the hatred on campus, he had personally been threatened by members of The Dartmouth Review, an off-campus conservative weekly newspaper.
"We all understand where hatred comes from -- one of the sources is you people," Luxon, who has repeatedly locked horns with The Review, said to Oron Strauss, former editor in chief of The Review.
During the debate, one member of the audience suggested developing a visible system of showing support for gay, lesbian, and bisexual concerns, such as a sticker on a dormitory or faculty office door.
"As a Christian, I would be personally offended if President Freedman had a pink triangle on his door," Lightfoot said.
Before the debate began, each panelist discussed responses to the flier sent to DaGLO.
"Here at Dartmouth there is a gay, lesbian and bisexual community and a number of interrelated groups -- a community with a number of dimensions," said Bart Bingenheimer '94, who currently works both with Dick's House and Responsible AIDS Information at Dartmouth.
"How do we respond politically to an incident like this?" he asked.
Bingenheimer commended Dean of the College Lee Pelton, citing him as one of the "allies" for his response to the incident published in The Dartmouth and general support. He also praised Hanover Police for "taking [the flier] seriously."
Bingenheimer also told the audience that the community needed to identify immediate, medium and long-term goals for the advancement of the support for the homosexual community at the College.
Orleck expressed her concern that this incident was not given the attention that an incident against another group would be given.
"What if students at the AAm got a flier that said 'Is it OK to shoot black people?'" Orleck asked.
"Gay bashing is one of the last acceptable forums of bigotry," she said. "People say it's a sign of their superior morality, rather than as a crime of hate and violence."
"There is political organizing going on in every part of this country from Oregon to Tampa, Florida that has found a very effective scapegoat," Orleck said. "There are a lot of candidates who have been elected by using gay hatred as a larger screen for discontents."
"Lets' talk about whether or not people think a flier like this is a joke," Orleck said. "This is where we have to start -- this is our community."
Another panelist, Dan Nelson, senior associate dean of the College, said he found the fact that the flier was sent anonymously to be the most disturbing factor.
He suggested bringing speakers to the College that would address moral, political and social issues related to homosexuality.
"[Hatred] is absolutely contrary to what we're about as a community," he said.
Jeff Hersh, director of counseling at Dick's House, said "Hate is an irrational prejudice," Hersh said. "It's taught, it's learned -- The solution to this disease is communication."
One student in the audience commented that he was appalled by the relaxed nature in which the campus handled the flier incident. He compared the reaction here to a school such as Brown University, where his brother was an undergraduate.
The student's brother noted that seeing two men or two women holding hands was not unusual on the Brown campus.
"You would never see that here," he said. "If I was gay I'd be scared myself."
