GLBTQ: Georgetown Gays in Trouble

This is a friend's (who is a Georgetown student) recount of the trouble the gay community is facing at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Also, queerty.com has a good posting on the ordeal.

On Sept. 9th, a Georgetown student was the victim of a hate crime by another Georgetown student. The victim had to be hospitalized. The university failed to alert the Georgetown community of the crime until a month after it happened and only after GU Pride demanded that the university make a statement.

The university’s response to this incident was completely inadequate, so GU Pride formulated a list of demands, one of which is the creation of an GLBT resource center. We asked GU President DeGoia to attend an open forum on Wednesday to discuss this plan, but he refused to participate.

Yesterday, GU Pride held a press conference on campus and tried to deliver a petition to the President’s office. Because it was Coming Out Day, members of GU Pride were wearing yellow t-shirts that said “I am” on them. Upon arriving at Healy Hall, where the President's office is located, people wearing these yellow t-shirts were barred entry to the building while other students were allowed in, who were not wearing the t-shirts. Fifteen campus security guards were present and formed a human wall to block GU Pride members from entering the building.

Here is some press coverage of the ongoing problem at Georgetown:

Article: "Gay Georgetown Students Rally" by WUSA.

Video: "Georgetown Students Protest in Response to Alleged Hate Crime" by WRC.