Whether or not it is a sick prank or a serious threat, officials at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina are taking the matter of a student receiving death threats seriously. An unnamed student has now received two death threats from an unknown individual or individuals that state that death is almost too good for him as a gay man. To my view, this type of nastiness is a natural outgrowth of the constant anti-gay mantra that comes from the professional Christian organizations and anti-gay religious denominations that use hatred of gays as a convenient fundraising method and means to distract attention for serious problems in the denomination - e.g., the corruption and misrule within the Roman Catholic hierarchy. Here are some story highlights from Fox8 News:*
Guilford College students will hold a meeting on Monday after someone sent a student two letters threatening his life and calling him derogatory names based on his sexual orientation.The hate crimes happened in the Bryan Hall dormitory last week. On Monday, a student found a note on his door that had a death threat and called him a derogatory name. The note also said "nobody wants your kind on campus." On Thursday, someone dropped a rock with a letter attached in the same student's window. The note used the same derogatory name and also said: "You don't deserve life like the rest of the world. It's bad enough with out all the gay crap pulling people down. It's sick, unnatural, and death is almost too good for you. Almost."
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The dean of students who live in Bryan Hall informed students about the hate crimes during a meeting on Friday."That note was horrible. They read that out loud and I think everybody was just shocked. It was so disturbing, so upsetting, so hateful and so mean," said Sarah Meteyer, a sophomore at Guilford College.The Gay Pride Organization on campus will meet on Monday to organize a march on campus this Wednesday. The organization hopes to bring awareness on campus about what happened at the dormitory.
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The college is acting forcefully and the president has addressed students:
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President Kent Chabotar informed the campus community in a statement last week that publicly deplored the incidents. Campus Life held a mandatory hall meeting in Bryan Hall to continue the conversation, and students are sponsoring a candlelight vigil on campus Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 7 pm. In his statement, President Chabotar said: “There is no room whatsoever at Guilford for persecution, oppression and harassment of individuals or groups. Those who perpetrate acts such as this challenge our intent to maintain the atmosphere of freedom that is essential for learning and civil society. Those who—out of prejudice, ignorance, or hatred—intimidate and silence others by their words or actions undermine us all.”
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The Greensboro Police Department is involved in the investigation of this matter and campus officials will cooperate with local authorities to ensure that those responsible will be held accountable both off campus and on campus. Persons having information about the incident are asked to contact Public Safety at 316-2908.
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I hope those responsible are caught and dealt with appropriately - expulsion from the school might be a good start.
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