Editorial An Ignorant Mindset

Author: [no author name found]

Last July, Middlebury College was recognized by "The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students" as one of the 100 best campuses for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students. With a rich history of breaking down barriers to open education for all people - think Alexander Twilight and Emma Willard - it is no surprise that Middlebury would be named a comfortable and accepting campus for LGBT students.

Instead, the surprise came this past weekend when we learned of hateful, homophobic graffiti in Ross Commons directed at a College administrator.

There is no excuse for the crime committed in Ross. The repulsive words scribbled on a dorm wall speak of an ignorant and hateful mindset that has no place at Middlebury. But in dealing with this recent occurrence, our community must ask itself whether this act is an isolated one, or whether it is the physical rendering of a larger unchecked sentiment on campus. President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz's call for a town meeting is a starting point towards recognizing and responding to these incidents, but it is ultimately the responsibility of students to formulate a response that goes beyond Old Chapel.

In that spirit, we appreciate the work of student LGBT leaders, who have launched an aggressive campaign to raise awareness of hate speech on campus, although the tone of these students' campaign has been unnecessarily coarse. Plastering the campus with offensive language to draw attention to offensive language seems contradictory.

Equally contradictory, however, is the silence of other student groups and leaders since the Ross incident. If we are all committed to supporting a diverse community, diversity issues must be addressed by all student organizations, not just diversity groups, and offensive incidents must be challenged by all student leaders, not just those who identify with the targets.

The discussion arising from these incidents will be difficult and uncomfortable, but the greatest threat to our community is not those who actively make hateful remarks - it is those of us who passively allow these actions and emotions to go unquestioned.