Brody's Notes... College Campus holds vigil for Gay student who received death threats

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) Sept 25 | Guilford College, a small private Quaker college in the city of Greensboro, North Carolina, rallied around a young Gay male student who had received death threats in his dorm room. Ty Buckner, a student journalist for the campus paper The Guilford Beacon, in an article published in the Sept 25 edition, reported:

Guilford College officials responded to two homophobic incidents that occurred last week in Bryan Hall. Both actions were in writing, anonymous and directed at the same student.

On Monday, Sept. 14, a Guilford student informed Residence Life and Public Safety that a note was left on his Bryan Hall room door the prior evening containing a threatening and homophobic message. On Thursday, Sept. 17, at approximately 11:30 p.m., a rock and a threatening note were dropped into the same student's open, residence hall room window.

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 sponsored a candlelight vigil on campus Wednesday, Sept. 23. 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."

(Click here to read the full text of President Chabotar's statement.)

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 the Public Safety Office.

Guilford has a Bias Incident Group that President Chabotar established in 2003 for responding to anonymous acts of this type. A Diversity Plan was endorsed by the community and enacted earlier this year by the president and trustees.

The Guilford College student vigil was covered by local Fox Network affiliate WGHP-TV, Fox8 for Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Highpoint: