Following the discovery of homophobic and derogatory vandalism on the ground floor of Fahey-McLane Hall on Nov. 6, students expressed frustration that there has not been a greater campus response to the messages and that the College did not act more quickly to stimulate discussion about the incident.
Dean of the College Charlotte Johnson met with former, current and future Winter term residents of first floor Fahey-McLane on Tuesday evening to discuss the administration's and community's response to the vandalism, according to students who attended the meeting. Johnson sent an email regarding the vandalism to the College community on Nov. 10, in which she wrote, "Dartmouth will never stand for bullying, discrimination, or hateful acts of any kind."
Rohail Premjee '14 first saw the offensive messages at approximately 3:15 a.m. on Nov. 6 and reported the vandalism to Safety and Security. The vandalism included hate speech such as "fags," "bitch" and "yes means anal," and was written on the window of the floor's common room. First floor Fahey-McLane is a gender-neutral floor.
"As a student at Dartmouth, I felt disgusted by the messages," said a student who lives on the floor but wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the subject. "It's really hard for me to reconcile the fact that this happened in the same place that I live and go to school."
Several students expressed concern that the College did not notify the community more quickly about the incident, noting that they might not have known about the crime if not for an article published in The Dartmouth on Nov. 10.
Although some students expressed concern that Johnson would not have sent her Nov. 10 campus-wide email had the article not been published, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender student advisor Pam Misener disagreed.
"An event like this activates a whole administrative process of response," Misener said. "On Sunday, I was unfortunately boarding a bus to New York City for the day and night, but I was in contact with the community director for the building, Michelle Hector, and she was in touch with the UGA on the first floor. That contact continued until we had an opportunity to meet with the floor on Wednesday night."
Although Johnson has responded to the vandalism, the adminstration may not be "treating the incident as it could," Zack De '12, treasurer of Gender Sexuality XYZ at Dartmouth, said. By the time Johnson's campus-wide email was sent, students had already found out about the incident in question via The Dartmouth, De said.
"It was just too long of a wait," he said.
Misener acknowledged that the administrative response may have seemed slow, but said that administrators were communicating throughout the day.
"That Sunday, the administration was notified and Dean Johnson and [College President Jim Yong Kim] were both informed," Misener said. "They were both very concerned."
Fahey-McLane residents were adequately informed about the situation through emails and UGA staff meetings, Misener said.
Misener explained that she tried to meet with residents of the floor last Tuesday evening upon her return to campus, but students asked for the meeting to be held Wednesday due to scheduling conflicts. Misener attended the most recent GSX meeting on Nov. 9 in order to address members' concerns, and also extended her office hours last Wednesday and Thursday, she said.
The College can learn from how it responded to the situation, Misener said.
"I think one thing that we can do a better job of is letting students know that there is protocol in place for an event like this and letting students know what this protocol is," she said. "Actions like this need to be reported so we can have a clear idea of where our weaknesses are on campus."
The vandalism has prompted an ongoing investigation by Safety and Security, according to Director of Safety and Security and College Proctor Harry Kinne.
"It's a very active investigation and we're following up on the incident," Kinne said. "We're concerned, and we've upped patrols by Fahey-Mclane. We want to reassure people that we're around to help."
Although Safety and Security has not identified the individual or group responsible for the crime, officers have made progress in the investigation, he said.
"We've narrowed down the time frame when the people who committed the crime were in the building and narrowed down the possible pool of suspects," Kinne said. "We're continuing to interview people on the floor and around the building at the time of the incident."
Although officers informed the Hanover Police of the incident, Safety and Security is best suited to investigate this type of a crime because it has access to information and resources on campus that may aid the investigation, Kinne said. If the person responsible for the crime is a Dartmouth student, the case will be passed on to the College's Undergraduate Judicial Affairs Office, Kinne said.
To demonstrate solidarity against bias and intolerance, several student organizations will co-host a candlelight vigil on the Green at 6 p.m. Wednesday before the Men of Dartmouth panel, Misener said. The vigil is co-sponsored by Palaeopitus, GSX, the Inter-Community Council, the Center for Women and Gender, Student Assembly and OUTreach Peer Mentors, according to a campus-wide email from OUTreach.
The groups aim to bring the community together in the wake of a number of upsetting events this fall, including cases of reported sexual assault and other instances of intolerance, Misener said. The groups are asking people to wear white throughout the day, according to the email.
Although some have tried to blame the administration's inaction, De said he wishes the community as a whole would react with more outrage towards the situation and begin more discussion about intolerance on campus. While the administration can do more, the fundamental change "has to come from the students," De said.
"I think homophobia is a problem for everybody," De said. "An event like this is not just directed at the gender-neutral floor it's directed towards all LGBTQA people on campus, and that includes allies."
The vandalism and the administration's response has drawn comparisons to a similar incident at Williams College that occurred the morning of Nov. 12. A student at Williams found hateful threats against black students written on the wall of a dormitory, Williams Director of Communications Angela Schaeffer said in an interview with The Dartmouth. The words "all niggers must die" were written on the wall, according to Inside Higher Ed.
The Williams administration cancelled classes on Monday to sponsor various student forums and discussions throughout the day. Williams President Adam Falk addressed the community in a speech at 10 a.m. on the college's main lawn, Schaeffer said.
"The incident itself was incredibly shocking and deeply painful," she said. "It was just jarring to all of us on campus. We don't expect that kind of thing to happen here."
