March id International Women d Month!
^north
& soutl
CAROLIN
Q-Uving:
Special gardening
secdon
WWW.q-NOTES.COM
MARCH 12.2005
Audiophile:
Everything But The Girl
Do you think President
Bush’s stance on gay mar
riage has endorsed an
atmosphere of intolerance?
In the next issue:
Great gay travel destinations!
Gay Chapel Hill student attacked
Thomas Stockwell, 21, brutally beaten
by David Moore
Q-Notes staff
Despite the liberal reputation of North
Carolina’s Triangle region, Thomas
Stockwell, a student at The University of
North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), was
the victim of a violent anti-gay attack in the
early morning hours of Saturday, Feb. 26.
it was just before 2 a.m. when Stockwell,
a former Charlotte resident, said he was talk
ing on his cell phone and became separated
from his friends outside of a restaurant on
Franklin St.
According to Stockwell's mother, Linda
Silver, her son was initially unaware that the
anti-gay taunts that a group of about six men
were shoutingwere aimed at him.
“He only realized it when he was walking
back to the restaurant and they started chas
ing him,” she recalled.
“I took off running to this corner,
Columbia and Franklin, where they caught
up to me,” Stockwell confirmed, "i turned
around and they punched me in the face.
“After the first punch hit my face, i
punched the guy back and he kind of fell
backwards. That’s when his friends jumped
on me. 1 have a three-inch wide gash down
the side of my face, a boot print on my fore
head, a concussion from where 1 hit the
ground on the back of my head and a broken
nose.”
The group of attackers left Stockwell on
the street in a bloodied heap, only relenting
when passersby interrupted the beating.
Friends eventually arrived on the scene and
took Stockwell to the hospital, where he was
later released.
Stockwell says that the events transpired so
quickly, he didn’t get a good look at most of
the attackers. “But I did get a pretty good look
at the one who punched me in the face,” he
recalls. “1 remember what he looks like. Long,
fluffy blonde hair, blue flannel shirt, chubby,
about five-ten or six feet tall.” Other media
reports indicate that all of the men were in
their early twenties.
Stockwell was speculative about why he
was attacked, indicating that perhaps one or
more of the men recognized him from school.
“Or, I was in the wrong place in the wrong
time. And just the fact I happened to be me.
I’m sure they had their own agenda. How
quick these guys were to jump on somebody
they thought was a ‘fag’ — they obviously
had thought about it before.”
Stockwell soys he'll continue to attend class
es at UNC-Chapel Hill, despite the fact there
are no current suspects.
At press time. Chapel Hill police
spokesperson Jane Cousins said that there
were no witnesses or leads to the attack, but
a report from a TLiangle area television sta
tion indicated that there was at least one wit
ness.
“It wasn’t a fight, it was a beating,” said
lyron Edwards. “They caught him and beat
him. They came across the street laughing
about it.”
see GAY on 21
HRC Carolinas Dinner
a huge success
Move to Charlotte bangs increase in attendance
and Jiinds raised
by David Moore
Q-Notes staff
CHARLOTTE — This year’s HRC Carolinas Dinner, held in Charlotte
for the first time on Feb. 26, attracted a record 1,345 attendees to the
event.
“We thought our original
goal was going to be 1,000
to ’ 1,200,” says HRC
Carolinas Dinner co-chair
Shane Windmeyer. “It blew
us away when we realized
we had exceeded that, and
actually sold out.”
According to Joni
Madison, also a co-chair
for the event, the growth in
attendance was a whop
ping 68 percent.
“Between ticket sales,
silent auction and corpo
rate sponsors, we have an
approximate profit of
$195,000 for HRC,”
Madison said in an email
%
Actor Robert Gant was one of the keynote
speakers at the HRC Carolinas Dinner.
sent to QrNotes.
“During the course of the dinner and Sunday
see HRCon 13
iN
Young Americans
most tolerant group
More supportive of gays and lesbians, immigrants and
racial and ethnic groups
by Alissa Schulman
With turnout rates
among young voters up
sharply (to more than 50
percent) in 2004 and social
commentators considering
the growing diversity of our
society, the attitudes of
younger people on such
hot-button issues as gay
marriage, immigration and
race are more important
than ever.
New analysis of 2004
exit-poll data, along with
other research, shows that
young Americans are more
favorable than other age
groups toward people sometimes targeted by intolerance, includ
ing gays and lesbians, racial and ethnic minorities and immi
grants, according to analysis released Feb. 28 by the Center for
Information on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE).
The data shows that young Americans are the most tolerant
age group, and this tolerance and support for diversity is increas
ing over time. Some key findings include:
• Sixty-nine percent of 18-29 year-olds see MOST on 4
As much as 69 percent of 18-29
year-olds support gay marriage
or legal civil unions for gay and
lesbian couples.