PETITION CLOSED

  • The time period for signing this petition has ended.
Help / Feedback • Press Inquiries
Protest Georgetown University Anti-Gay Hate Crimes and Demand Action
  1. Signatures
    156 out of 1,000
    Petitioning
    1. President, Georgetown University (Dr. John DeGioia)
  2. Created By
    Ray in DC
    Washington, DC
About this Petition Petition Letter
Why This Is Important

In the last ten days, a series of anti-gay hate crimes has rocked the Georgetown University Community in Washington, DC. On Tuesday 10/27/09 at approximately 9:10 pm, a female Georgetown student was assaulted (she thankfully suffered only minor injuries) as she walking back to the campus. Two men who appeared to be in their twenties shouted anti-gay insults at her, grabbed her book bag, pushed her to the ground, and hit her with the bag. Then, on Sunday 11/01/09 at 1:32 am, a male student (also on his way back to campus) was first verbally and then physically assaulted (he was also not seriously injured). Finally, Georgetown's LGBTQ Center, which was created after a series of earlier anti-gay attacks, was itself the object of an anti-gay slur written on its door.

Georgetown students and faculty, gay and straight alike, have united with an outpouring of support for the victims, coupled with a well-deserved condemnation of the perpetrators. These events have also attracted renewed attention to the pernicious effect of past and ongoing efforts to foment anti-gay popular feelings, and use the resulting fear to mobilize political supporters opposing gay equal rights and support other ultra-right positions. Please express your opposition to these reactionary views, along with your condemnation of the attackers and unqualified support for the victims, by signing this petition.

The petition also includes an email to Georgetown University President John DeGioia. President DeGioia has been a supporter of gay rights and tolerance in the past (he worked to create Georgetown's LGBTQ Center after an earlier anti-gay attack). The email requests his continued strong support for the Center, as well as other student-led efforts to respond to and address the recent spate of anti-gay hate crimes. 

For additional information on the attacks, links to articles in the local press and Georgetown University's blog, links to other community resources, and a political poem commenting on the incident, please visit http://newsericks.com/Cura-Personalis.

Please join us in your support of this worthy cause.

PS to Georgetown University students, factulty, staff, alum, and donors: You can customize the letter to indicate your connection to Georgetown, which is generally a good thing to do.

Recent Signatures

Recent spate of anti-gay hate crimes at GU

Dear Dr. DeGioia

I would like to join the community of students, faculty, administrators, alumni, and local community members in expressing my condemnation for the inexcusable series of anti-gay hate crimes which have taken place recently at Georgetown University. As a concerned citizen, I join with you in expressing my unqualified support for the victims, and unequivocally denounce the perpetrators of these acts.

First, I would like to commend you for your strong support of gay rights and tolerance in the past, in particular for the establishment of Georgetown’s LGBTQ Center after an earlier anti-gay attack. I request your continued strong support for the Center, as well as for other student-led efforts to respond to and address the recent spate of anti-gay hate crimes.

Second, I would also like to join concerned Georgetown students in requesting your full support for the following consensus measures:
• improved communication between on- and off-campus safety organizations
• promotion of a more tolerant culture within the University
• increased effort to change what many students perceive as a campus culture that abets homophobia
• enhanced student protection through University support for student self defense classes and other training and educational self-defense measures
• support for development of a possible volunteer group to help walk students home on late nights, and
• revisions to the student conduct code to make hate crimes a Type C violation such that hate crimes are treated with as much seriousness as regular assault, sexual assault, and theft.

Finally, I would like to join with the Georgetown Solidarity Committee in demanding better treatment and higher salaries for Georgetown’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers. These officers provide a crucial service, but are paid roughly three dollars per hour less than campus security officers at other DC area schools. As a result, DPS is habitually understaffed and suffers from poor long-term staff retention. This situation has contributed to the lack of student safety made all too apparent by the recent spate of anti-gay crimes. I therefore support the Solidarity Committee’s proposal for a $4/hour pay increase to be phased in over the next three years for current officers, along with development of a fair staffing policy and provision of increased levels of support by the University to SafeRides, escort services, and other safety systems.

Sincerely,

[Your name]