Assault on gay college students by teenagers at Pennsylvania’s Swarthmore
”Sort of out of nowhere, one of them hit me in the head and I went down.”
An unnamed gay student at Swarthmore College, who was with a friend from the University of Pennsylvania, claiming that at least five teens — five or more males and one female — approached the older pair and asked for alcohol. After some questioning, and a denial, the teens punched and kicked the gay college students. The Daily reports that “There were no [homophobic] epithets used by the “high school kids” but does say that they gay couple was being affectionate while crossing campus. (daily.Swathmore.edu)
”While it still isn’t clear what prompted the assault on our student and his friend, it does appear that homophobia could have been a factor in the attack…. I know that you share my distress and concern that any type of physical assault would take place on our campus, particularly one that may have been motivated by hate….”
”I had the opportunity to meet with our student (Monday) night and while he is shaken by what happened, he is grateful for the support he has received from the community, and mostly wants to encourage all students to continue to look out for their personal safety at all times, both on and off campus.”
Comments from Elizabeth Braun, dean of students at Swathmore College about the assault on two gay male students on the school’s campus. The Daily Times quotes a police officer as saying there was no indication of anti-gay bias in the crime at the time that it was reported to him. (Daily Times)
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