Education, unity the best way to stop hate

Rocks, bricks and clumps of dirt were hurled through windows at
the LGBT Campus Resource Center for two nights in a row, beginning
on Sept. 12. Through the gaping holes the rocks created, hands
clawed and grasped for the flags hanging in the once-solid window
panes. The hands ripped rainbow flags from their firmly fixed
position ““ flags that represent a community, an identity and
a freedom of existence.

We were all attacked those two nights because we were forced to
deal with the ugly truth that hatred remains on this campus in the
year 2004. We were all attacked those nights because we realized
that we are still sometimes not accepted for who we are, and
because this campus is a little less safe than we had all
thought.

We were all attacked those nights because we had again tasted
the hate that runs so deep within some of us and hurts all of us, a
hate that shows us all that an attack on some of us is truly an
attack on all. Just a few days after the attacks, our community
came together to deal with the broken glass, but not with an
unbroken spirit.

Now there is a suspect. A police investigation has resulted in
the arrest of a student who is believed to be the culprit of these
heinous crimes, Robert Grosfield, who was arrested under the charge
of the interference of the exercise of civil rights.

The dean of students, Robert Naples, has stated that if
Grosfield is convicted of causing destruction to university
property, he will most likely be charged with violating the UCLA
student code of conduct. The consequences for violations of this
code are usually decided on a case-by-case basis, but the suggested
actions include required completion of educational programs and
unpaid volunteer activities. But Naples has said that if Grosfield
is convicted of perpetrating hate crimes, his punishment may be
more severe. Suspension or dismissal from the university is the
normal response to hate crimes.

If Grosfield is convicted of this crime and property damage, the
Queer Alliance feels the appropriate course of action includes
nothing less than full dismissal from this university. We feel this
is in accord with Chancellor Albert Carnesale’s zero
tolerance policy on hate crimes as well.

Yet more importantly, a dismissal such as this would send a
clear message: Hate crimes at this university are reprehensible
because they work against the ideals of respect and understanding
that this university is built upon.

A dismissal is necessary because we must show here and now that
an attack on one is an attack on all, and that hate works only to
unite the rest of us together. As a community, we must act in a way
that serves us all by denying hatred and returning greater safety
and freedom to all.

In addition to dismissal, the Queer Alliance supports an
educational resource for the convicted. We understand that hatred
exists both on and off campus, and simply dismissing the
perpetrator from this campus does nothing to fix the problem.
Though the campus will be safer, dismissal alone would leave a
larger community at greater risk for hate crimes. For this reason,
we would encourage an educational resource for the convicted
““ a course that teaches anger management and works to better
the person him or herself.

Not only were these attacks just before the 10th anniversary of
the LGBT Campus Resource Center, but they were also weeks before
National Coming Out Week on Oct. 11-15.

This National Coming Out Week, I invite all of UCLA to come out
against hatred. Let us instead celebrate compassion. Let us rejoice
in our diversity and show that contempt has no place here. Instead
of dividing and conquering, let us show that such hatred only works
to create unity, and through that unity, let us create a safe,
nurturing and truly free university.

Ebrahimzadeh is the chair of the Queer Alliance.