Institute Must Respond to Homophobia

   On Nov. 12, members of Lambda Chi Alpha vandalized the Tau Epsilon Phi
   fraternity house and painted a homophobic slur on the sidewalk.
   Apparently, members of LCA were angry because TEP had painted over
   some of the Smoot markings on the Harvard Bridge. While neither
   fraternity was blameless for these incidents, the homophobic graffiti
   painted by LCA is especially offensive to the community as a whole. In
   such flagrant cases of offensive behavior, the administration must
   make it very clear that homophobia has no place at MIT.
   
   The brothers of LCA issued an apology to the community today. The
   apology is an important first step, but it is also a slow one. The
   vandalism occurred 11 days ago and the apology came only after flyers
   protesting the incident were distributed in Lobby 7.
   
   The slur painted on the sidewalk is demeaning to gay, lesbian, and
   bisexual members of the community; it alienates and stigmatizes them.
   The administration's silence is particularly disturbing because this
   incident closely follows the publication of the _Dealing with
   Harassment at MIT_. The administrative silence undermines its efforts
   to eliminate harassment in the community.
   
   The administration's apathy demonstrates a lack of respect for the
   gay, lesbian, and bisexual community. When racial slurs were shouted
   at four black students last spring, it elicited at least a statement
   from President Charles M. Vest.
   
   The recent events at TEP and the lack of any official response show
   that the administration talks big about fighting harassment, but fails
   to provide serious leadership when incidents actually arise. The
   administration -- the President or the Dean for Undergraduate
   Education and Student Affairs -- needs to publicly address the
   incident and re-affirm its commitment to eradicate homophobia and
   discrimination.
   

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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 was printed on page  4.
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