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Alleged hate crime not surprising to UW
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by Andriy Pazuniak
Friday, January 20, 2006
While many students were shocked to hear of the felony hate crime charges brought against two University of Wisconsin students, representatives of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Campus Center said they were not.
"I'm not real surprised, quite honestly," LGBTCC Director Eric Trekell said in a phone interview a day after two UW freshmen were charged with felony hate crimes for vandalizing the door of an LGBT liaison in Ogg Hall.
Benjamin Chamberlain and Michael Riha, along with two friends from out-of-state universities, face felony charges of disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property as hate crimes after allegedly defacing the LGBT liaison's dormitory door Dec. 21.
According to a police report, Chamberlain, Riha and their friends wrote "I hate f-cking f-ggots! Die!" on the liaison's bulletin board, spit on the door and ripped down LGBT posters placed around it.
Altogether, the four students face 17 felony charges.
"This act is uniquely brazen," Trekell said. "But, similar acts happen every day on campus."
Trekell said LGBT students simply ignore the harassment, and choose not to report it, because they feel "nothing will be done."
UW Police Department Detective Carol Glassmaker — who was in charge of the investigation — echoed Trekell's sentiment, and called for more students to follow the liaison's example of reporting incidents.
"We hope more people will come forward with their complaints," Glassmaker said, adding the incident was the second such case reported this academic year.
Glassmaker said another person in the dorms received a threatening phone call last semester, but police were unable to discover who placed it.
Trekell called the problem of harassment and intolerance on campus a "climate issue," adding the university is "not nearly as progressive as it believes."
"Many LGBT students and students of color come to UW and have a wonderful experience," Trekell said. "But, there are those who feel like they can't come out safely."
According to Trekell, a "clear statement" from the chancellor and UW administration condemning the misconduct of the two UW students would be a "positive first step" in improving campus climate.
UW administrators did not return phone calls as of press time.
As for the individual students involved in the Dec. 21 alleged incident, Glassmaker said they admitted to the misconduct, but showed no sympathy.
"I don't think they realized the totality of what they did," Glassmaker said.
According to court documents, Riha and the two out-of-state students are members of the Sigma Chi fraternity at their respective university chapters.
Representatives from Sigma Chi's national headquarters did not return phone calls as of press time.
Chamberlain, the fourth student involved, is a member of the U.S. Marine ROTC, and had been a "student in good standing," according to ROTC officials.
However, ROTC officials criticized the alleged misconduct, and said a "performance review" for Chamberlain would follow an investigation of the incident.
"This type of behavior is completely unacceptable," UW ROTC Commanding Officer Scott Mobley said. "The values we emphasize include respect for all people, no matter what their background is."
They are values similar to those Trekell hopes all students will take from this ugly incident.
"We hope to see more interest in straight students about what they can do to help their friends," Trekell said.
Anonymous (January 20, 2006 @ 11:51am):
I am an openly gay student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I also have served in the United States Navy and have been criticized extensively for my homosexuality. I think what the students did to the RA in ogg hall is unexceptable I do not think it warrants felony charges. Being openly gay brings about many challenges that all must face, I think the RA should be the bigger person, reach out to those students and show the gay community truly respects the straight community. The felony charges and courtroom litigation to follow is only going to cause more destruction. Destruction not only of the individuals lives who are being prosecuted but for the University and the gay community as well.
I fail to see how charging these students with "hate crimes" is going to solve anything. The students I am sure regret the decision they made that night. We all regret many decisions we make. I feel that the RA, even though he was directly and expressly targeted by the group, was not hurt physically, and did not witness the "verbal assault" and should take the bigger role here and forgive them for what they did.
The University should remove the students from school, and they should be stripped of any scholarships they have received and should give a public apolgy and do community service. This recommendation should come from the RA.
The legal system will bring fourth no benefit for any of the parties involved. It will be a sad day if this goes to trial. I can be reached for comment at my email, kellyusnr@hotmail.com
Anonymous (January 20, 2006 @ 2:56pm):
Look at the picture on Riha's Facebook account (posted within the last 24 hours) and tell me he doesn't belong in jail.
Anonymous (January 25, 2006 @ 9:19am):
This is a very unfortunate event. While I could never understand how difficult it must have been for the student to open the door to see what the four students had done, I can say that I do understand what was going through the minds of the four students in which the charges are being brought against, they were drunk and showing off. Four eighteen-nineteen year old boys who first of all don't really understand the world at this point in their lives thought that they were having fun and did not think about how they were going to make the gay/lesbian community as a whole and the direct victim in this case feel. I happen to know one of the four students very well and know for certain that he has a great heart and for the most part has good intentions. Sometimes hanging out with the wrong people can make us do things we normally would never think to do. Get some new friends Ben and think about what you are doing and what effects your actions have on others.
Anonymous (February 4, 2006 @ 2:54am):
"Get some new friends Ben and think about what you are doing and what effects your actions have on others."
To the person who just posted that comment, I am a friend of one of the individuals and agree with everything you said, but you realize that the reason there is this much trouble is because Chamberlain wrote "I hate F'ing F*ggots, DIE" on the dry erase board. The word "DIE" and the people being accused of saying it, Caleb Moore and Ben Chamberlain, is what has made this so serious. Before you tell Ben to get new friends, maybe he should re-think his own actions. All these boys are good guys, but just because you know Ben, don't go and blame the other kids for what he did. Caleb and Ben are the ones that will have a tough time getting out of trouble because they are the one's that did the spitting, writing, and tearing down of pictures, not Riha or Cochacki. Regardless, this is all way blown of proportion and none of these boys should be facing criminal charges.
