Whitman hosts vandalism talk

“It took me by surprise,” Mentha Hynes-Wilson, director of student life at Whitman, said of the series of events. “It could have been a careless prank or maybe not.” Hynes-Wilson pointed out that regardless of the messages’ intent, they all had a strong impact on those who were targeted or felt uncomfortable.

Vanessa Rodriguez ’09, a Whitman RCA, had a recent “chalking” — as these incidents are commonly referred to — in her hall. “It is ok to have certain beliefs,” she said. “The point is just to create a safe space, whatever your beliefs, and not to force [your beliefs] on others.”

Daria Hrabrov ’09, another RCA in Whitman, had one of her advisees targeted personally by one of the comments left in chalk. “I worry that it is the kind of thing people aren’t comfortable discussing in big groups or that they feel [don’t] affect them personally, even though it affects everyone,” Hrabrov said.

Whitman College Dean Rebecca Graves-Bayazitoglu GS ’01 said in an e-mail, however, that public discussion is important in addressing this issue. “Our RCAs felt very strongly that we should offer an open forum for discussion, and took the lead in planning one for our entire college,” she explained.

The discussion’s purpose was to “explore why these incidents are unacceptable and reaffirm [the University] community’s commitment to making Whitman a safe and welcoming environment for every student,” Graves-Bayazitoglu said.

Residents of Whitman also received letters at their doors detailing the recent harassment and how it ought not to be tolerated. “I thought it was really effective to see something on paper,” Ellen Adams ’10, Pride Alliance co-vice president, said.

The recent incidents of vandalism seem to affect the LGBT community in particular. While some of the drawings were simply obscene, some of them also involved homophobic slurs. Just two weeks ago, a homophobic slur was found prominently displayed in a men’s bathroom in Holder Hall.

In response to that incident and others that have occurred in Rockefeller College, Rocky Director of Student Life Andrew Adair sent an e-mail to members of the college on Saturday outlining ways students and administrators can address these issues together.

“We know that the vast majority of you find expressions of hate that menace one or another person or people as appalling as we do,” Adair said in the e-mail. “There’s a lot we can do about this together,” including showing support for members of the community “who may now be feeling marginalized or targeted.”

It remains unclear whether those responsible for the acts in Whitman were University students. “At this point, we have no idea who is responsible for these incidents,” Graves-Bayazitoglu said. “Public Safety is pursuing their investigation.”

Several participants, including Sexual Harassment/Assault Advising, Resources and Education director Suraiya Baluch, stressed that education and discussion are the most effective ways to fight harassment and discrimination.

All of the discriminatory jokes that can be seen and heard on campus desensitize people to the point that these comments may become tolerated, Baluch said, pointing to the popularity of the site juicycampus.com. Though the University will not block the site, Baluch said, “it is a mere symptom of the problem.”

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A student at the meeting pointed out, “People have the attitude that it’s chalk and it wipes away, so it’s fine.”

Students in attendance stressed that even though the LGBT community was particularly harassed in the recent vandalism, the issue is not just about that group. One meeting participant said that “events like this aren’t just homophobic, they’re sexist [and] racist, and they violate social cohesiveness of the community as a whole.”