Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Student Assaulted in Alleged Hate Crime

A student was allegedly followed by two men and pushed against the wall of Healy Hall after being called homophobic slurs early Sunday morning.

At around 2:30 a.m., the victim, who wished to remain anonymous, said he was walking past the Lauinger Library steps from a party when he passed a group on their way down the stairs. The victim was uninjured from the attack.

“They said things like, `Look at this faggot,’ `Hey, faggot,’ and `Hey, pink shirt,'” the victim said. “I was intoxicated, and I said, `Fuck off,’ back to them. I’m a pretty thin guy, I was wearing a pink shirt, so I’m sure some assumptions were made.”

The victim said he continued on without looking back, but as he walked past Lauinger, he looked back and noticed that two men from the group were following him. One came around in front of the victim and the other stayed behind, he said, forcing him to walk toward Healy Hall.

The victim said that one of the men shoved him against the Healy wall, demanding an apology for the recent exchange. One attacker, who was smoking a cigarette, the victim said, blew smoke into the victim’s face. The victim said he asked the two if they went to Georgetown, to which one gave an affirmative reply.

“I told them if they laid a hand on me I’d call [the etropolitan Police Department] and [the Department of Public Safety],” he said.

The two just stood there, according to the victim, as he walked through a gap between them.

“I didn’t look back,” he said.

When the victim made it to his apartment, his housemate suggested that he call DPS, the victim said. The victim’s housemate then proceeded to call DPS, who dispatched officers to the victim’s apartment.

The victim said declined to file a report with DPS, deciding he did not want to make a big deal out of the incident or draw attention to himself.

“To call it a hate crime is – I don’t know,” he said. “I personally feel like a shove up against the wall is not a hate crime.”

The victim, who is gay, said that the assailants could not have known his sexual orientation, but that they likely made inferences based on his appearance.

DPS Investigator Donna Shephard said that DPS plans to pursue the investigation. The two suspects have not been identified.

“It’s going to be handled in the normal way,” Shephard said. “They will get in contact with the complainant and see if he can describe the suspects.”

This was not the first time the victim had experienced homophobia at Georgetown, he said.

“I’ve been called names before.this isn’t something new,” he said, “The environment I’ve experienced [at Georgetown] in the past two semesters hasn’t been encouraging.”

The victim said he said he plans to become more involved in LGBTQ groups at Georgetown because of the attack. The assault also changed the way the victim approaches walking at night at Georgetown, he said.

“It was right from N and 37th to my apartment. I thought I’d be fine,” he said. “I won’t travel alone anymore.”

Director of University Safety Operations Peter Luger sent out a public safety alert via e-mail last night describing the assault.

Shortly after the e-mail was sent, Scott Chessare (COL ’10), co-president of GU Pride, sent a message to University President John J. DeGioia, Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson, University Provost James O’Donnell, the GU Pride listserv and campus media describing his disappointment with the university response.

“Hate, in the form of homophobia, has once again violently struck our campus,” Chessare said in the e-mail.

The incident took place five weeks after another student was allegedly assaulted in a hate crime on O Street. When the university sent out a broadcast e-mail about the incident three weeks later, GU Pride held two protests and met with administrators, including DeGioia and Olson, to voice their concerns that the university did not adequately notify the Georgetown community.

“People need to know. In five days, there have been two suspects at large who went to someone and basically attacked them,” he said. “So it seems to us sort of like a repeat of the three weeks of silence.”

DPS Director Darryl Harrison could not be reached for comment last night.

– HOYA Staff Writers Michele Hong and Meghan Keneally contributed to this report.

View Comments (1)
More to Discover

Comments (1)

Comments are Closed.
All The Hoya Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest