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April 14, 2005

More than 500 members of the campus community flocked to the Free Speech Rock to attend the student-run "Erase the Hate" rally today at noon. Students from many different groups Ñ from the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholars to the women's rugby team Ñ and individuals showed up to speak out against recent racist and homophobic incidents on campus.

The rally, led by freshman Darren Simonson, came in response to racist graffiti found in and around the Towers Concourse over the weekend and to the theft of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Pride flag early Saturday. About halfway through the rally, President Peggy R. Williams climbed up on the rock and stared out at the crowd. After a few moments of standing silently, she unfolded a copy of The Ithacan, and held up the back page, which read "ERASE THE HATE." "There's not much nice to say today, other than we have to erase the hate," Williams said.

"So I am going to direct my remarks to the perpetrators. Your actions are seriously at odds with the values and purposes of this community. Your actions show me and others how much work we need to do to educate individuals to respect and embrace those who are different."

Many students and faculty members echoed Williams' words throughout the rally. "You know, sometimes tolerance is not enough," said senior Emily Liu, advertising and public relations chair of the Asian Culture Club. "Tolerance means we're just going to stand here, keep to our own spaces. Tolerance sometimes means skirting around important issues. I encourage students, faculty, staff and administrators, to create community through dialogue."

Later in the rally, Cynthia Henderson, assistant professor of theater arts, shared her own experience as a victim of discrimination. A few years ago, racist and sexist notes were slipped under her office door, she said.

"They attacked both my womanness and my race," Henderson said. "It angered me, and then it frightened me because it escalated. They called my home and said, "We don't need nigger bitches like you teaching at our school."

Henderson said she was thankful for the support shown at the rally, a statement echoed by a number of the students in the crowd. "I'm glad to see people come out," senior Aliza Porth said. "These are unfortunate events, but it really gets you thinking about things that I don't think about every day. It strikes a chord."

By 1 p.m., around 200 students remained. Many cheered, "The people united will never be divided," as they marched to Job Hall, holding up a LGBT pride flag on the steps in front of the building. Continuing their cheers and chants, the crowd then made its way to the Towers Concourse, pausing for a moment of dancing, shouting and pounding on the walls. The marchers then made their way back to the Campus Center flagpole.

"The strongest part of the rally was really the people," freshman James Aucoin said. "It showed passion, support, unity. We created a message for the whole campus to hear." After the rally, sophomore Katherine Leversee walked around with a notebook and pen, questioning a few students in their support of the rally. She said the rally was ineffective because it did nothing to address the deeply rooted hatred behind the incidents.

"It may be impossible to find a meaningful protest because haters hide," Leversee wrote in her notebook, after debating passionately for a few minutes with junior John Connelly. "Protests in support of unity are merely symbolic and must be used in transition until a more effective strategy" is developed.

Freshman Mike Meyers agreed. He said he chose not to attend the rally for that reason. "Only the people who know about the incidents and feel upset by them will attend the rally," he said. "The people who did it aren't going to show up, so they won't be affected."

However, sophomore Ebony Blue said, "The rally was more about awareness than solutions." About 10 minutes before the start of the rally, an "Erase the Hate" flag was raised on the Campus Center flagpole along with a new LGBT Pride flag. Freshman Taryn Michelitch announced that from 9 p.m. Thursday to 7 a.m. Friday, prism will hold a vigil underneath the flagpole to make sure the flag stays in the air.