By Mike Napolitano
Three words sketched onto the wall of a resident hall have Northeastern officials and students outraged at what President Joseph Aoun called in a letter on the myNEU portal an incident “that contradicts all that we stand for as a university.”
World AIDS Day was internationally recognized on Monday, Dec. 1. The mood was dampened, however, when students found the words “AIDS cures fags” written in graffiti on an outer wall of White Hall, according to a statement from Northeastern University’s bisexual, lesbian and gay Association (NUBiLaGA).
In response to what President Aoun called a “deeply disturbing act,” the university acted according to standard protocol, said Renata Nyul, assistant director of communications and public relations.
“NUPD [Northeastern University Division of Public Safety] was immediately notified, and they called facilities immediately to remove it,” she said. “[The Office of] Student Affairs notified residents of White Hall, talked to students who lived in the building and also notified NUBiLaGA.”
Nyul said that because the graffiti appeared on the outside of White Hall, there is a possibility it was written by someone not affiliated with the university, although no one knows for sure.
“It could have been anybody on the street,” she said. “There’s no indication to lead us to believe it was one of us.”
Caitlyn Keckeissen, director of Education, Advocacy and Activism at NUBiLaGA, said she was pleased with the administration’s response to the graffiti.
“What’s important is that the administration is supportive,” she said. “I’m really very pleased, very happy for the support that the administration is rallying.”
In a statement from NUBiLaGA, members of the group called for Northeastern to develop a procedure to report harassment or crimes against people based on their sexual orientation. Nyul said the university is open to speak to and provide help for anyone who feels singled out by this or similar incidents.
“Student affairs is also working with any student who feels like they need help or counseling by this incident through University Health and Counseling Services [UHCS],” she said. “Anyone affected by this has the appropriate avenues to voice these concerns and get appropriate responses.”
Co-chair of NUBiLaGA Em Dunham said she is working on a few plans that she hopes will benefit students who feel discriminated against.
“We hope to plan something for students and members so they can report these things on their own,” she said. “Next week we’ll be meeting with NUPD.”
Dunham said members of the student group are trying to establish an NUPD liaison starting in the spring semester.
“It would be someone that can be more of a comfortable go-to for people that may have a hesitancy about reporting these things, really removing the stigma,” she said.
Keckeissen said discriminatory comments and incidents routinely go unreported.
“It happens to students all the time,” she said. “They really go unreported because people are afraid.”
Keckeissen said that while she thinks the overall campus community is not prejudiced or homophobic, letting people think it is okay to target gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender/transsexual people is a problem.
“It’s a problem when people come on campus and write ‘AIDS cures fags’ and think that’s OK somehow,” she said. “That’s less likely to happen when the campus has been more outspoken about condemning these acts.”
