‘Hate’ victim speaks out

Target of hate-inspired violence against gays speaks at SOU press conference today

By Jennifer Squires
Ashland Daily Tidings

A dozen or so protesters blew whistles, held signs and waved flags Thursday on the campus of Southern Oregon University to draw attention to letters being passed around the campus promoting violence against homosexuals. Orville Hector | Ashland Daily Tidings

As the furor over hate activities targeting homosexuals at Southern Oregon University peaked today, the target of one incident spoke out during a press conference called for this morning by school officials.

Freshman Roger Wert, a member of the student government, spoke about his harrowing experience at the conference. Wert, who says he is the victim of an alleged hate crime, says the administration dragged its feet after he had positively identified two of the assailants in a photo lineup.

Frustrated, Wert, with the assistance of his fellow student senators, contacted state Sen. Alan Bates and Rep. Peter Buckley, both Ashland Democrats. He received an e-mailed response from Buckley on Thursday morning informing him that the lawmaker had spoken with Zinser. Wert believes Buckley’s involvement provided additional motivation for the SOU administration to act in protecting its student environment.

Bates, representatives from the City of Ashland, the SOU security department and an Ashland Police Department officer were scheduled to be in attendance at the press conference to discuss the situation and answer questions. Buckley and Rep. Sal Esquivel, R-Medford, will appear through a live telecast.

Zinser, who first addressed the issue in a May 25 e-mail to the student body, says the administration has been dealing with the issue since it first arose.

“We do not sweep these things under the rug,” SOU President Elizabeth Zinser said this morning. “We want to treat it transparently and make sure everybody knows this is.”

The university has planned forums with students this afternoon in the Stevenson Union and Zinser will roll out the first 10 actions steps they intend to take, including enrolling in an ally training course and commissioning a campus climate assessment committee.

“[B]e assured that the university administration is devoted to stopping hate crimes and enabling a civil, safe and lively learning community,” Zinser said in a May 25 campus-wide e-mail. “Such acts of ignorance and hostility, be it aimed at a person’s gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion or national origin, are not tolerated in the Southern Oregon University family.”

Fliers threatening two students — of whom Wert says is him — and the homosexual community in general have been found on campus in the Stevenson Union, Taylor Hall, the music building and the Greensprings residence hall. The fliers, which first appeared on May 9, have escalated from gay-baiting to violent threats, according to Danielle Mancuso, the director of the SOU Queer Resource Center and the board chair of the Abdill-Ellis Center.

Initial flyers contained phrases such as “smear the queer.” One of the two fliers found this week read, “You Queers can vanish to volcanic ash, and reappear in hell with a can of gas and a match. I hate QUEERS and God hates QUEERS! And the Bible says that Homosexual Offenders should be put to Death!”

Two or three different fliers have been found each week since the harassment began, including one inside a parking ticket envelope on the windshield of a targeted student’s vehicle. Some have included drawings of a person with a noose around the neck.

“A joke is a joke, but this is just scary,” Mancuso said. “It’s not being taken with humor; it’s just hate. It definitely makes people unnerved.”

Charges possible

The Ashland Police Department and the SOU security department are considering the fliers intimidation in the second degree and harassment, although both agencies declined to release specific information.

“You have to walk the line between freedom of speech and a threat,” said APD Sgt. Teresa Selby. “It’s hard to prove because you’ve got to prove that the person was committing the crime because of a perception.”

Intimidation in the second degree comprises crimes motivated by a person’s perception of the other’s race, color, religion, national origin or sexual orientation. Intimidation is classified as a Class A misdemeanor in Oregon; it becomes a felony when physical injury occurs.

“The death threat is there and the targeting of a large group of people is there,” Mancuso said. “I feel like it should be investigated because it could lead to a hate crime.”

The fliers follow a alleged incident of intimidation against a 19-year-old male SOU student in the early morning hours of April 30. The man said he was verbally harassed by an unidentified group of six to eight men who called him names that suggested he was gay and spat at him.

The APD also investigated the April 30 incident, although no arrests were made.

Other instances of hate at the university in recent years included a death threat to a gay student, vandalism and several discriminatory and hurtful incidents in the residence halls, according to Mancuso.

Frustrated by the lack of action from the community at large and worried about the safety of homosexuals in the area, a group of 10 to 15 concerned gay residents blew whistles and shouted “Stop the hate on SOU’s campus!” during an impromptu rally in the Stevenson Union courtyard at noon Thursday.

“It was just to draw attention to it. Obviously they heard us today,” said Jeffrey Foust, the southern Oregon field organizer for Basic Rights Oregon who coordinated the rally. “These acts need to stop, and if we have to go to the school and bring our whistles to bring attention to it then that’s what we’ll do.”

APD officers were called to the scene when the whistle-blowing disrupted classes in Taylor Hall and alarmed people sitting in the courtyard. Police told the demonstrators they would be arrested if they did not quiet down before 1 p.m. The area is public and no noise ordinance applies during the noon hour.

“The demonstration, I thought, today was so brilliant,” said Mancuso, who did not help organize the rally. “The whistles to me meant, ‘Stop what you’re doing and be affected.’”

Mat Becker, who works with the Eugene Human Rights Commission, said Thursday the reaction to instances of hate in Ashland mirrors what would happen in Eugene.

Rep. Peter Buckley, D-Ashland, and Sen. Alan Bates, D-Ashland are expected to attend tonight’s vigil, which will include a speak-out. The May 6 vigil drew approximately 40 people.

Content editor Michael Green contributed to this report. Staff writer Jennifer Squires can be reached at 482-3456 x 3019 or jsquires@dailytidings.com.