THE DEPAUW
T UE S DAY, NO V E MBER 1, 2 011 | INDI A N A’ S OL DE S T COL L EGE NE W S PA PER | VOL . 16 0, IS S UE 17
String of anti-gay slurs hit home Monon tickets sell out in one week By MICHAEL APPELGATE news@thedepauw.com
Freshman Richard Walsh leads a discussion about recent cases of harassment against the LGBTQ community on campus in the U.B. Ballroom Sunday. CHIP POTTER / THE DEPAUW By DANA FERGUSON news@thedepauw.com
Freshman Taylor Truster got on his hands and knees and crawled under a barricade of tables in order to escape the jeers of partygoers calling him a “faggot” and a “gay” who was not welcome. Truster had been standing with a friend in Phi Kappa Psi fraternity at a registered party Friday night costumed as a drag queen for Halloween when a partygoer approached him and asked him to leave the house based on his appearance. “You need to get out of here because we don’t take that gay shit here,” the man said. Truster attempted to leave through the designated exit, but it
was blocked by the man who asked him to leave along with a group of other men. Truster sought an alternative exit. After failing to find an exit, the man who asked Truster to leave forced Truster to exit by crawling under a barricade of tables to the door. After arriving outside, Truster and his friend heard shouts from individuals yelling out of windows commenting on their sexuality. The two went directly to Public Safety to report the incident. Upon arriving Truster gave way to his emotions. “I was a hot mess when I was at public safety,” Truster said. “I was bawling, I was texting people. It’s just scary, it was just disturbing.” Public Safety reported the case as harassment and officers and ad-
ministrators are currently investigating. President of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity Paul Dugdale emailed the student body a letter of apology on behalf of the chapter Monday. “Phi Kappa Psi is both stunned and appalled by the incidents of hateful discrimination that occurred at our chapter-sponsored event this past weekend,” Dugdale said in the letter. Dugdale said Phi Kappa Psi has worked with the university in investigating the issue and has contributed a photograph and name of the possible culprit in the incident. “Evidence suggests that the individual is a non-Phi Psi who was visiting from another university,” Dugdale said.
Dugdale said his chapter was “shattered” by the events that occurred Friday, and he hopes those affected by the incident accept his apologies. “We’re really trying our best,” Dugdale said. Truster said as investigators continue seeking the individuals involved in the harassment case he hopes others do not place blame on groups to which they may belong or to the community at large. “I especially want this individual to be held responsible as an individual, because I don’t want this to reflect on our campus really, because these have mostly been isolated incidents,” Truster said.
LGBTQ | continued on page 4
Early Monday afternoon, tickets for the DePauw side of the 118th Monon Bell Classic at DePauw University sold out. “It’s great to sell out and great to sell out quickly,” said Athletic Director Page Cotton. “It’s the main event in the fall and is what our students look for from a social standpoint. It generates a lot of excitement and enthusiasm from our alumni base as well.” Out of the 8,100 capacity for the stadium, 3,800 gold tickets began were distributed last Monday to students and faculty at no cost. On Wednesday, tickets began to be sold online to anyone for seats on the DePauw side. “We wish we had more tickets to sell,” Cotton said. “But we have to make sure from a liability standpoint that we don’t sell more tickets than we have enough room for.” A new feature developed by Assistant to the Vice President for Student Life Jeanne Menzel and the IT staff this year was the automatic closure of the ticket sales website when the tickets sold out. “We’ve gone through a transition from dealing with all the tickets in the athletic department to moving to an online purchase system,” Cotton said. “The way that the computer program is set up is it keeps track of the number of tickets sold so if it sells out, it says it has sold out.” Tickets were only free to students on Monday and Tuesday of last week. The rest of the tickets were given to both of the football teams, alumni who will be in attendance at the alumni brunch before the game and to Wabash College. “The one thing that we do that I think is a really good thing is that we provide two days for students on campus and faculty to get their free tickets,” Cotton said. “If they don’t do that they get thrown into the system like anyone else.” Blackstock Stadium is already being fitted for the Monon Bell Classic, which will take place on Nov. 12. The Tiger football team still has one game against Albion College at home on Saturday before it begins its preparation to face Wabash.
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