While most Gustavus students find the campus to be generally free of intolerance, an undercurrent of bias has recently drawn the community’s attention.

On March 6, 2008, President Jim Peterson sent an e-mail informing the campus that at 12:30 a.m. that morning, a group of men shouted homophobic remarks outside of the Adolphson House, a campus-owned Intentional Learning and Service (ILS) residence occupied by five members of the student organization Queers and Allies. The men directed their remarks at the residents of the house and specifically mentioned Junior Political Science Major Tony Spain.

“I thought they were just walking by and yelling things,” said Spain, “but they actually came up into our yard.” Though the men eventually left, the residents later heard noises outside of their house, prompting them to call Safety and Security, who found one of the house’s back windows broken.

Although S&S cannot definitively connect the broken window with the incident, the residents of the house were concerned. “At that point, anyone could have gained entry to our house,” Spain said.

In his e-mail, Peterson wrote that Gustavus “deplores this kind of behavior” and that “actions that demean others because of actual or perceived ethnicity, sexual orientation, race, or other protected status have no place in our community.” This position is set forth in Gustavus’ mission statement says that the college strives “to become a community of persons from diverse backgrounds who respect and affirm the dignity of all people.”

According to Spain, the Gustavus administration reacted to the incident immediately. Spain e-mailed Dean of Students Hank Toutain and Area Coordinator and Head Resident Erin Berreth that night, and the next evening seven administrators visited the Adolphson House to offer support. Among them were Toutain, Berreth, Director of Residential Life and Assistant Dean of Students Charlie Strey and Staff Psychologist Jackie Alvarez.

“[They wanted to] hear about what happened, see how we were feeling and make sure we were ok. And they asked us what they could do to make us feel safer,” said Spain.

Spain also said that in addition to the support offered by administrators, Safety and Security took measures to further safeguard the Adolphson House. “They actually stepped up their patrol of all ILS houses,” said Spain. “They put floodlights in our yard and they put a deadbolt on our door [and the broken window] was fixed the next morning before we were even awake.”

Director of the Diversity Center Virgil Jones said that such a swift and thorough response is part of an administrative effort to offer the college’s full support to students targeted by bias.
Jones said that the administrators who visited the Adolphson House are part of a response team created specifically for such incidents. “We take it seriously,” he said. “I think this group of people [who acted on feelings of bias] has the perception that what they are doing isn’t punishable. And people that I work with think way differently than that—not only are they punishable, but they’re punishable on a severe level.”

Jones also said that the administration can do far less if students are unwilling to report incidents involving bias. “The administration is only as strong as the people who are victims, and the rest of the community,” Jones said. “If somebody treats you in a way that isn’t becoming of a Gustavus student, you need to report it … let’s forget about being a snitch; let’s think about what’s the right thing to do.”

Despite the administration’s attention in this area, several students targeted by similar incidents have chosen not to report them. During her first year at Gustavus, Senior Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Major Fardosa Ali decided not to report an incident of bias in which she was targeted by violent threats related to her Islamic faith. “When I was a [first-year], two guys followed me down the hill, [saying things like] ‘I’ll poke your eyes out and laugh about it,’” said Ali.

Although administrators may remain ignorant of some inidents, students have responded strongly to such incidents. After being followed for several minutes, Ali said she turned around to face the men following her and said, “Well, why don’t you just do it and see how it makes you feel?” Feeling more anger than fear, Ali—like many Gustavus students targeted by bias—took control of the situation. “They didn’t know what to do,” said Ali. “They just laughed.”

In 2006, students held protests outside of the Market Place in response to racist content on the Facebook profile of a presidential candidate for Student Senate. Those protests prompted Senior Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Major Courtney Covey to write an editorial in THE WEEKLY condemning sexist Facebook groups such as “Gentlemen with the Utmost Respect for Bitches” and “Future Owners of Trophy Wives.”

As a result of her editorial, Covey herself became the target of multiple bias incidents. In addition to messages on Facebook calling her a “dumb little bitch who didn’t know what she was talking about,” Covey received phone calls in the middle of the night calling her a “dyke” and a “cunt.” She also found three similar messages written on the whiteboard hanging on her dorm room door.

“I don’t know if they were just assuming I was a lesbian [because of the editorial], or if that’s just what they say to women who piss them off,” Covey said. Like Ali, Covey chose not to report the incidents to Safety and Security, although she did mention them to her Collegiate Fellow. “I could have gone through the official process,” Covey said, “but in the end it didn’t seem worth it. I never particularly felt threatened.”

Although she didn’t report the incidents, Covey’s public response to bias reveals a desire shared by many students to engage in campus-wide dialogue about the issue. Students publicly expressed that desire in 2006, the same year as the Facebook controversy, when an unknown person stamped a swastika into the snow of Uhler Hall’s courtyard. This incident resulted in a series of discussion-based caucuses well-attended by students and faculty alike.

Senior Chemistry Major Bryce Gode spoke up at one such caucus after becoming dismayed when some professors weren’t talking about the incident. “Even though we were supposed to discuss the swastika incident in our classes, none of my professors did because they assumed our other professors had already done so. As a result, I didn’t talk about it in a single one of my classes,” Gode said.

Gode said he welcomes opportunities to discuss such bias-oriented incidents. “If something like that happens on my campus, I want to know about it. I want to know specifically what happened, not just that it was another bias incident,” he said.

Despite the willingness of many students to confront bias incidents openly, some of these still go unreported. According to Peterson’s e-mail, however, those who do not wish to confront the publicity that typically sorrounds bias incidents can anonymously report them through the Silent Witness Program, available at gustavus.edu/security/silentwitness/.

Even if students do not report bias incidents, they are not powerless in preventing them from happening. Jones said that condemning biased actions or language as soon as they are encountered can also be a powerful tool. “Peer pressure is the greatest vehicle we can use,” Jones said, “because ten administrators can’t be everywhere, but two thousand students can.”

Photo by: Courtney Woodward

Alya Aziz-Zaman