VOLUME 113, ISSUE 6
SOLIDARITY
COMMUNITY MEMBERS JOIN HANDS TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST HATE
BY JOSEPH R. SCHWARTZ assistant university editor
As hordes of community members, bound not by sexual
orientation but by compassion, marched past Silent Sam
on their way to Franklin Street, they sent a message that
they unlike the statue will not remain silent.
Once the crowd reached its destination, the site of Friday morning’s
hate crime, hundreds of candles lined the street, each one signifying a
glimmer of hope that the assault will lead to much-needed change.
Amid supporters stood junior Thomas Stockwell, the victim of the
attack.
Humbled by the hundreds of people who came to show solidarity,
Stockwell said afterward that he was compelled to speak when some
media outlets released, his name.
“I didn’t want to be portrayed in a certain way because I hadn’t been
talking,” he said in a phone interview Tuesday night. “I didn’t want to
come across as victim because that’s not what I am.”
\ ■■■
DTH/BRIAN CASSELLA
Junior Nick Shepard looks toward the sky with tears in his eyes while listening to community members speak out against homophobia and hate during Tuesday's event in the Pit.
CAMPUS LOOKS BACK
BY LINDSAY MICHEL
ASSISTANT university editor
When UNC graduate lan Palmquist
returned to the speak-out in the Pit on
Tuesday night, an unpleasant sense of
familiarity washed over him.
Almost seven years before, he had stood
on the same bricks during a vigil in honor
of hate crime victim Matthew Shepard.
“I’m so pleased that we don’t have
another death tonight,” he said. “But I’m
outraged that it’s been six years, and I feel
like I’m making the same speech.”
Although several steps have been
taken at UNC to improve the climate for
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and
queer students since his college years,
Palmquist’s words and the recent attack
on a UNC junior are testament that an
ideal climate has yet to be discovered.
“We’ve now sort of hit a hiatus, and we
need to go back and revisit this report,”
CLIMATE AND CHANGE ON CAMPUS
OCT. 13,1998
A crowd of about
200 participates
in a vigil to mourn
gay college student
Matthew Shepard.
ONLINE
Study: Youth are least discriminatory group
Speaker says Palestine has chance at peace
For these stories and more, see dthonline.com.
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
ohr fatly (Tar llrrl
said Provost Robert Shelton in reference
to a 2002 LGBTQ climate evaluation
report. “It’s a good time to take stock and
see where we are and look at our pro
gresses and re-energize.”
The report, a result of a yearlong effort
to evaluate the needs of UNC’s LGBTQ
community, laid the foundations of
today’s support network.
Of the LGBTQ students who were sur
veyed during the investigation, more than
half said they had been verbally harassed
on campus. Though only 6 percent admit
ted to being a victim of physical harass
ment, all respondents said they had been
“given the cold shoulder” because of their
sexual orientation.
The Provost’s Planning Committee com
piled the results and recommended the
creation of an LGBTQ office within the
Division of Student Affairs, as well as the
addition of a sexuality studies curriculum.
APRIL 2002
UNCs Provost's
Planning Committee
on LGBTQ Climate
releases a report,
suggests changes.
INSIDE
NO STRINGS ATTACHED
Carrb'oro, Chapel Hill look to
expand wireless areas PAGE 5
www.dthonline.com
His identity revealed, Stockwell imparted his version of the attack
that he maintains occurred at the hands of a group of unidentified
men.
“It was unprovoked, and I did fight back,” he said. “There’s only so
long that you can fight off a pack of wolves.... I don’t want to be con
strued as being weak.”
Members of the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender-Straight Alliance,
as well as Amnesty International, organized Tuesday’s speak-out event
to provide the community with a forum and a direction.
The event began in the Pit, as top University administrators, elected
town officials, student leaders and other notable public officials who
often battle each other on public policy issues stood as one com
munity.
Chancellor James Moeser was the first to deliver prepared remarks
SEE RALLY, PAGE 4
Ten months later, on Feb. 17,2003, the
LGBTQ Office opened its doors full-time.
Since its opening day, the office has
worked to promote programs such as
Safe Zone training and “Social Hour and
A Half” to increase the sexual minority
community’s visibility. These programs
also have provided LGBTQ students with
a place where they feel safe and can find
support, said Stephanie Chang, coordina
tor for LGBTQ programs.
“The combination of our office’s pro
grams and the (Gay Lesbian Bisexual
Transgender-Straight Alliance’s) pro
grams are saying to students, ‘There is
an outlet here for (them),’” she said.
Jermaine Caldwell, who has been an
active student in the LGBTQ community
at UNC since 1999, said he has experi
enced the changing face of his community
SEE CHANGE, PAGE 4
FEB. 17,2003
LGBTQ Office, one
of the report's
recommendations,
opens in Division
of Student Affairs.
FEBRUARY 2004
UNC lecturer scolds
a student via e-mail ■
for expressing anti
gay sentiments.
Debate ensues.
TjjJ
INSIDE
UNIVERSITY
STUDENT CODES
The University explicitly condemns
discrimination based on sexual
orientation in its policies PAGE 4
SYSTEM
NONDISCRIMINATION
System schools deal with hate
crimes in varied ways, and they
aren't looking to change PAGE 2
STATE
N.C. HATE-CRIME STATUTES
Lawmakers, despite past failures,
could try to put sexual orientation
in state’s hate crime law PAGE 2
ONLINE
A multimedia slideshow with
additional photos from Tuesday
See www.dthonline.com
FALL 2004
Anew minor in
sexuality studies,
another report
recommendation, is
offered at UNC.
INSIDE
THE COST OF WAR
New art exhibit in Student Union honors members
of the armed forces who lost their lives PAGE 3
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2005
FEB. 25, 2005
A 21-year-old UNC
junior is attacked on
Franklin Street
in what police label
a hate crime.
WEATHER
TODAY Sunny, H 45, L 24
THURSDAY Sunny, H 48, L 25
FRIDAY Sunny, H 48, L 32
JL
■ ■
DTH FILE PHOTO/BRANDON SMITH
Student Body President Matt
Calabria spoke at the State of the
University address on Tuesday.
Talks
target
UNCs
future
Leaders reflect,
share guidance
BY CAROLINE KORNEGAY
STAFF WRITER
As one of their few remaining
duties, student government lead
ers stepped up to the podium
Tuesday and reflected on their
impact at the University.
An intimate and interested
crowd of students and administra
tors gathered for the State of the
University Address.
The four speeches, one from
each of the four branches of stu
dent government, centered on the
strides leaders said they had made
to improve student life.
The addresses were a chance to
look back on and organize their
thoughts for the next generation
of leaders, said Student Body
President Matt Calabria.
Students’ commitment to
improvements will shape the
future of the University', he said.
“Excellence requires no more
than the raw materials that we
already have at this University,”
he said.
Calabria stressed the importance
of continuing the work started dur
ing his term. He also highlighted
key initiatives completed during his
tenure, from the free, legal music
downloading pilot programs to
added safety lights around campus.
Calabria also spoke of this year’s
tuition battle, noting that students
SEE ADDRESS, PAGE 4
Officials
react to
faculty
protest
BY SHARI FELD
STAFF WRITER
University administrators said
Tuesday that they were not sur
prised by the sharp criticisms
expressed in a letter that denounced
a lack of trans
parency in
the process
of negotiat
ing plans for a
new program
in Western
civilizations.
Officials
said that
negotiations
with the John
William Pope
Foundation
have been
open and
UNC Dean
Bernadette
Gray-Little
said concerns
are unfounded.
that accepting the funds will not
compromise the integrity of the
University.
“The source of the money
will not determine its use,” said
SEE OPEN LETTER, PAGE 4
Q