Vandalism at the UO: LGBTQA office spray-painted with a swastika

UPDATE V
March, Candlelight Vigil, Rally, etc. etc. etc. (Thanks for the tip, Monica Christoffels!)

From the LGBTQA's Facebook events, a list of things, after the jump.

UPDATE IV: LGBTQA co-director Alex Esparza said that a candlelight vigil starts at 6 pm tomorrow (Tuesday, Feb. 2) in the LGBTQA office. He said no one department or student group is sponsoring it but that "it's all of us, coming together."

Esparza said that right now, people are bringing to the office rainbow ribbons with UO President Richard Lariviere's email message on them, and tying them up around the office. He said that an offer of financial support came in about 20 minutes ago.

Esparza added, "Although it’s a scary experience, it’s done nothing but iron my resolve and embolden me to fight against this kind of hatred. I won't stand for this any longer, and I don’t feel our campus community will any longer either."

The U of O's Department of Public Safety is looking at this "as a bias crime," and the Eugene Police Department is investigating the vandalism as well, according to Julie Brown, director of media relations in the UO's Department of Media Relations. "It's an ongoing investigation," she said. "They're calling it criminal mischief and intimidation."

UPDATE III: Email from our news intern, Deborah Bloom, and photo of the swasktika'd carpet itself, after the jump. In her notes, she writes, "ASUO Legislative Affairs Rep Robert Greene says, 'My biggest fear is that this is only the beginning.'"

UPDATE II: Text of a letter to the Daily Emerald from the ASUO Women's Center is also below the jump.

UPDATE: Our new news intern, Deborah Bloom, has gone to campus to investigate further. Monica Christoffels, UO student and Oregon Daily Emerald receptionist, took a photo of the ASUO-support poster that covers the bare place where the swastika was painted on the carpet. (UPDATE: That portion of the carpet was removed. Photo of it and the swastika after the jump.)

Image by Monica Christoffels, available at yfrog.com

Just got several emails in rapid succession about a swastika painted on the carpet of the University of Oregon's Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans Queer Alliance office.

Though the student leaders of the LGBTQA are in a meeting with the president of the university, I spoke with Cat McGraw, program assistant at the LGBT Education and Support Services Program.

McGraw said that the staff of the LGBTQA last left the office at 2:30 pm on Friday, and that the custodial staff found the door unlocked last night and "a 4 by 4 foot swastika on the carpet" about 1 am today. She said that the flat-screen TV monitor and the computer monitor in the office were also painted out, and that the damage was "well over $1,000."

"The student feel like they've been targeted," McGraw said. Apparently, some of the administrators of the LGBTQA have been active in the protests against the Pacifica Forum.

UO President Richard Lariviere issued a statement over email. Full text of the statement is below the jump.

Updates here as more information becomes available.

Full text of the UO president's statement to the university community, sent just after noon today:

Feb. 1, 2010

Dear University Community:

Early this morning, we discovered a large swastika had been painted on the carpet in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and Questioning Alliance (LGBTQA) Student Union Office in the Erb Memorial Union. It is reprehensible that such a hateful, cowardly act occurred on our campus. When one group is targeted, it threatens all of us and must be addressed directly and swiftly.

Unfortunately, these types of events can and do happen, even today. When they do, it reinforces our imperative as a community to band together against hate and intolerance of any kind.

We must do all that we can to come together as a community to fight such acts of intolerance and to provide support to those affected as we deal with the aftermath of this event.

This act of vandalism is not about exercising free speech or having challenging, difficult conversations; this is about hate and vandalism. We will vigorously pursue all avenues available to us to hold the perpetrators accountable for this cowardly act. We will continue to work with the Department of Public Safety and student leaders to ensure that we are doing all that we can to preserve the safety and security of our students, faculty and staff.

Richard W. Lariviere
President, University of Oregon

Text of the ASUO Women's Center letter to the editor of the ODE:

We, the staff of the ASUO Women's Center, wish to write a letter in solidarity with the LGBTQA in light of the recent hate crime committed in the space. Over the weekend of January 29th to February 1st, their office was broken into and vandalized with large, spray-painted swastika symbols. We acknowledge that this crime affects the student body and the larger Eugene community. In addition to violating the physical space of the LGBTQA, this is also a violation of mental and emotional well-being and sense of safety. The EMU is a student-funded space where students gather, organize, and celebrate diversity at the University of Oregon. When hate crimes like this occur, these critically important spaces become unsafe for everyone. What will it take for our community to recognize a hate crime when we see one? When will we start responding from a place of healing and solidarity in ways that will have lasting and palpable effects? We implore administration to take action to restore and ensure the future safety of this space and the students who inhabit it. We also demand that this issue is not ignored and that an appropriate educational campaign continues and that student attention and action are taken. We hope that this event is recognized not as an isolated incident but rather as a part of a system of oppression and bias that continues to affect the students on campus as well as people in our community.

The carpet, removed, with the swastika on it. Photo by Deborah Bloom

Notes from news intern Deborah Bloom after interviews with LGBTQA executive member Alex Esparza, and her photo of the swastika.

The swastika was spray-painted onto the LGBTQA's carpet sometime between Friday at 4:10 pm and 1 am today. The door was apparently left unlocked, but, Esparza says, not by LGBTQA staff. They had locked the door but since the lock does not appear to be tampered with, they think that UO facilities left the door unlocked after cleaning.

Esparza and ASUO Legislative Affairs Rep Robert Greene say that they think there is a strong correlation between the Pacifica Forum and this incident. They think they were targeted because, as Esparza says, they have been "very vocal opponents to the Pacifica Forum". They have this impression because "there have been many student-heavy protests, which as escalated the action" happening around the Pacifica Forum. Esparza thinks that "either a Pacifica Forum member, or another individual or individuals who feel strongly about the Pacifica Forum's message."

Facilities removed the 4 X 4 carpeted square at around 9 AM. Once the ASUO Executive heard about this incident, they made a poster for the LGBTQ to express their support. That poster now lies where the swastika was, taped to the bare ground.

Greene says, "My biggest fear is that this is only the beginning."

From UPDATE V:

On Feb 1st, it was discovered that the LGBTQA office was vandalized over the weekend. The office was entered and a 4ft. by 4ft. swastika was spray painted across the floor. The vandals also spray painted both the television and computer monitors in the office. This action was intended to scare and intimidate us, but now more then every we need to stand strong as a community and respond to these heinous and despicable acts.

The LGBTQA in conjunction with many other student unions and organizations on campus has organized several events to respond to this incident and foster solidarity and unity with the greater campus and Eugene community.

An Attack on One is an Attack on All.

Help Create a Community United.

Love Will Triumph.

Event Schedule:

---Tuesday, Feb 2-----

*Candlelight Vigil
6pm-7:30pm
LGBTQA and EMU Amphitheater
Meet outside the LGBTQA office at 6pm and the we will march around campus and reconvene in the EMU Amphitheater for a speakout.

---Wednesday, Feb 3---

*Solidarity March
11:30am-12pm
UO Bookstore and 13th
Meet in front of the UO Duckstore/Bookstore on 13th at 11:30 and march down 13th to raise awareness of the events that have taken place and create a safer campus.

*Solidarity Rally
12pm-3pm
EMU Amphitheater
A show of solidarity withing the EMU Amphitheater against hatred and bigotry on the UO Campus. Listen to speakers and then have a chance to speak out yourself and create messages and artwork to combat hate and oppression.

---Thursday, Feb 4---

* Anti-Hate Forum, Part II
5-7pm
Ben Linder Room
More information TBA shortly

---Friday, Feb 5---

*Breaking Bigotry's Protest and Rally
2:30pm
Outside Johnson Hall
More information TBA shortly