Bigotry Rears Up On Campus Closet Bashing Illicits Strong Reaction

Author: Tom Drescher

A symbolic closet built by members and associates of the Middlebury Open Queer Alliance (moqa) was destroyed during the evening of Friday, Oct. 18 by perpetrators yet to be found by the College's Department of Public Safety.
The closet was the first to be built since 1996, when a similar closet on the same location on the McCullough green was vandalized and demolished. The administration's muted reaction to the vandalism then was declared unsatisfactory by many members of the College community. The vandalism, along with other incidents that highlighted the College's policy on diversity, prompted Middlebury students to express a lack of confidence in the administration, and led ultimately to the creation of the Associate Provost of Institutional Diversity, currently served by Roman Graf.
"Coming Out Week, like a lot of gay activism, is about visibility," explained Professor Kevin Moss, moqa member.
Coming Out Week is actually an extension of Coming Out Day, celebrated on Oct. 11 to commemorate the second gay rights march on Washington, D.C., in 1987. The College first began recognizing the anniversary of this event in 1990 as "Gay Jeans Day" by wearing jeans to signify one's support of gay rights.
Coming Out Week is celebrated on many campuses across the country, but the closet is a Middlebury innovation. "The idea was to build a symbolic closet," Moss explained, "and let it stand for a week as a reminder of what being in the closet is all about, then tear it down to symbolize coming out of the closet."
Before this could happen this year, however, the closet was destroyed.
The closet was allowed to stand for almost a week before the vandalism occurred. "By [Saturday] morning the entire structure had been completely destroyed and was lying flat on the ground in several pieces," explained Lisa Boudah, director of Public Safety.
"At least, this time around the Closet was allowed to stand for most of the week," said moqa co-convenor Chris Atwood '03. "Maybe Middlebury has experienced tepid progress."
In the wake of the destruction, the response of moqa members is, in general, one of sadness and disappointment. "Ultimately, not many moqa members were surprised the closet was destroyed," Atwood said, "but we'd hoped that Middlebury had changed enough to allow us the free expression of our opinions without being reminded once again that some in 'our' student body do not support their fellow students."
Fortunately, the destruction may have some positive externalities. Atwood hopes that the incident will propagate "a wider discourse on respect for property and how, often, the signs or property of minority organizations on campus have become the target of vandalism."
It is also quite possible that the vandalism will actually increase awareness of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues on campus. "Perhaps in [the closet's] destruction - rain-washed plywood limp and broken on McCullough green - we can begin a real, honest discussion," Atwood said. "Perhaps the image of the destroyed and tattered closet is, sadly, more illustrative of many queer students' experience here: invisibility and denial."
This time, the administration's reaction has been much more appropriate. Via e-mail, the Provost, the Dean of the Faculty, SGA, the Staff Council, and the Faculty Council all issued statements condemning the vandalism, and the Department of Public Safety is currently investigating the matter.
In an e-mail from the Office of the Provost, Ron Liebowitz and Dean of the Faculty Robert Schine responded strongly: "That act of destruction undermined its meaning, and interfered with the right of a campus organization and its individuals to express their views freely – in a way that was both creative and civil. It was an act of violence and disrespect of the kind that cannot be tolerated by this community."
Public Safety does not currently have any suspects, but they are asking that anyone with information regarding the incident contact the department. Lisa Boudah stated, "The Department of Public Safety is always concerned when there is an act of vandalism and disrespect in our community."
Legitimate concern on the part of the administration will certainly help create a forum for discussion of diversity issues. "The closet was intended to make people ask the question: how can we change the environment we live in so that everyone at Middlebury will feel welcomed to be who they want to be?" said Atwood.