The Amherst Pride Alliance rallied yesterday on the Valentine Quad at Amherst College in response to a recent incident involving the harassment of several homosexual Hampshire students attending one of their GAP (Gay Amherst Party) functions.
On Saturday, Nov. 10, Hampshire students attending the GAP function, held in Crossett Hall on the Amherst College campus, were allegedly harassed by an unconfirmed number of Amherst students. The Amherst students reportedly threw water balloons, threatened the Hampshire students with homophobic slurs and poured beer on them as they attempted to exit the party.
"Over the course of a half an hour, I was witness to other people being verbally abused and I personally experienced physical violence on the part of some Amherst students," said Lilly Walleck, one of the Hampshire students who was allegedly harassed.
Walleck has filed a complaint with the Amherst Police Department and Amherst College Campus Police, and estimates that seven other students have also filed complaints, though it is unclear how many students were allegedly harassed.
The Amherst Police and Amherst College Campus Police are currently investigating charges of "physical intimidation and harassment," according to Craig Cullinane, director of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Ally (LGBTQIA) support.
The Amherst College administration received the official police reports on Monday and took action to remedy the situation.
"We were all horrified and outraged by it, and of course it swept across campus, and so we wanted to swiftly respond," said Cullinane.
Ben Lieber, the Amherst College Dean of Students, said the rally, which was put on by the Amherst Pride Alliance, was organized to "express a great deal of concern" for the events that transpired Saturday night.
The rally was held from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Valentine Quad and featured speakers from across the Five College area. A table was set up for participants to make signs with their own supportive slogans, which ranged anywhere from "End Hate" to "Home Sweet Homo."
At the rally's onset, several hundred students, faculty and community members amassed on the Valentine Quad - many of them dressed in purple as a gesture of solidarity - to express their disapproval of the harassment and to show support for the Hampshire students.
A large banner was erected that read "Please Come Back," echoing the administration's concern that the event, described by Cullinane as "acts by deluded and ignorant people," would be seen as representative of the Amherst College campus.
"This is not the atmosphere at Amherst College - it's an anomaly," he said.
"I personally was very surprised about what happened," said Trevor Lewis, an Amherst sophomore. However, Lewis said he had spoken to several friends who had seen or were familiar with acts of homophobia on the Amherst campus - "which is not my experience at all," he said.
"I was surprised that it became violent," said Gudren Juffer, an Amherst senior who attended the rally. "I was surprised it turned past the quiet, latent homophobia and became something someone acted on."
Lewis was surprised that the individuals who allegedly harassed the Hampshire students had used water balloons, which suggests that the harassment was premeditated.
Several Amherst students were also concerned that the incident could lead to larger problems.
"Any incident can be a catalyst, if this is going on all the time, then we need to show that it is an issue," said Alexa Catao, an Amherst sophomore.
Several Hampshire students declined to comment on the issue, citing the fact that they had come to the consensus to let unofficial spokespeople speak on the matter.
Most of the demonstrators dispersed by 1 p.m., as many of them were Amherst students and had to attend classes. Approximately 40 demonstrators remained until the end, including several administrators and Five College students.
"I think everyone just wanted to reiterate the message that this is not acceptable and we don't find it acceptable on campus, and I'm sorry that it did happen but I hope it won't happen again," said Caroline Hannah, director of media relations for Amherst College, regarding the rally.
S.P. Sullivan can be reached at spsulliv@student.umass.edu.
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