Flyers Target Slur

   By Jeremy Hylton
   
   Editor in Chief
   
   Six students stood in Lobby 7 at the end of the Infinite Corridor
   yesterday morning and handed out flyers protesting the homophobic
   graffiti painted on the sidewalk outside Tau Epsilon Phi by members of
   Lambda Chi Alpha on Nov. 12.
   
   The flyers said, in part, "We demand that LCA, the [Interfraternity
   Council], and the MIT administration address publicly the homophobic
   contents of LCA's attack and how each respective organization intends
   to improve the atmosphere for lesbigay people on campus."
   
   Yesterday afternoon LCA delivered a letter of apology to the MIT
   community. One section of the letter said, "The brothers of Lambda Chi
   Alpha recognize that the actions taken [on Nov. 12] were, at best,
   insensitive to many members in the MIT community. We realize that such
   cannot be tolerated because it tears at the fabric of our community:
   diversity."
   
   Members of LCA vandalized the TEP fraternity house and painted a
   homophobic slur on the sidewalk outside. The LCA members were
   apparently retaliating for a TEP hack that involved painting over
   Smoots markings on the Harvard Bridge.
   
   Kristen K. Nummerdor '94, one of the organizers of the event and
   political coordinator of Gays, Lesbians, and Bisexuals at MIT, said,
   "We're trying to get the administration to act and sometimes that
   means pushing them a little."
   
   The handling of the incident, Nummerdor said, sends out a message that
   homosexuals are not very welcome in the fraternity system and at the
   Institute. "It makes us feel sort of alienated," she said.
   
   The six students in Lobby 7 handed out about 2,500 flyers and hung
   some on bulletin boards across campus. "We got a lot of support in
   passing," Nummerdor said.
   
   Dean for Undergraduate Education and Student Affairs Arthur C. Smith
   said that the Dean's Office is concerned about the incident and has
   met with both fraternities. "Certainly both the president and I are
   concerned," Smith said, but "I'm not going to make any broad, general
   statements."
   
   Neal H. Dorow, assistant dean for fraternities, sororities, and
   independent living groups, said that the Dean's Office and the IFC
   probably would not need to take any formal action because LCA and TEP
   intended to settle the dispute themselves.
   
   "I think one of [the protesters'] concerns is that they would like us
   to be clear about MIT's attitude about providing support for the MIT
   community. We do and we will," Smith said. "When it comes down to a
   specific instance like this, we like to deal with the specific
   students involve."
   
   Nummerdor criticized the administration's support of lesbians, gays,
   and bisexuals as being superficial too often. "The administration will
   be very supportive behind closed doors, but then nothing concrete will
   ever be done, which leaves a lot of us feeling pretty frustrated," she
   said.
   
   Smith said that much of the investigation his office would undertake
   would not be made public. "Whether we will take the action some people
   want us to remains to be seen," he said.
   
   In a statement LCA said, "Measures are being taken to discipline the
   individuals involved and we intend to work with the Dean's Office at
   MIT to investigate and implement a sensitivity training program
   addressing the delicate issues mentioned above."
   

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Copyright 1993 by The Tech. All rights reserved.
This story was published on  Tuesday,  November 23, 1993.
Volume  113, Number 60
The story began on page  1
and jumped to page  10.

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