On behalf of the LGBT Campus Center and the student organization Ten Percent Society, we are issuing a statement of concern regarding Memorial Union security practices in light of the incident involving Lambda Theta Phi's event in Tripp Commons Saturday. We at the Campus Center and TPS witnessed a similar response to the "Back to School Dance" last Friday night, held in the Great Hall of Memorial Union, and we believe that both incidents involved unnecessary reactions by campus security.
TPS has been putting on large events with live DJs, both in and outside of the Union, for nearly 25 years, and at last Friday’s dance, we were met with the harshest treatment that we have seen in the members' collective years of involvement in the organization. Our dances have run smoothly without any major incidents for as long as we have been on campus, and they serve as a way to bring the LGBT community together in a safe social space. Last Friday, students and guests were treated rudely by security guards hired by the Union, our volunteers faced staffing expectations that were unreasonable and many former TPS members and UW alumni who often return to our events were being turned away and asked to leave because of newly enforced restrictions on admission. This reflected poorly not only on our organization, but also on both the Union and the university itself to those who were not allowed to attend.
We believe that what happened to Lambda Theta Phi was truly unfortunate, as we understand the amount of planning that goes into these large events. Due to our experience with Union security last Friday, we are looking seriously at off-campus options for future dances to avoid a similar experience, and we suggest that Lambda Theta Phi consider doing the same.
Cory Schultz ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in international studies and economics. He is also communications director for the LGBT Campus Center.
