by Jill Baron and Jennifer Hobin

On Tuesday, October 12, the Army set up a table in the lobby of the Student Union, as they had done
many times before, in an attempt to recruit students.  Nearby, the LGBTA also had a table set up to inform
students about their club.  It was during this tabling session, at about 10am; that an LGBTA member (who
asked that his name not be used) said one of the Army recruiters walked over to his table to see what it
was about.

The student gave The Press the following account regarding what happened next: When the recruiter
realized that it was a gay organization, he looked at the table and said, “freak”.  At this point, the LGBTA
member, who was alone, became nervous.  He telephoned a friend to ask if she could come stay at the
table with him, but wasn’t able to reach her.  The same recruiter called the LGBTA member  “faggot” at
intermittent intervals in the next hour.  The LGBTA member was scared, but decided to stay.  Soon after,
when he coughed, the same officer told him that perhaps “he shouldn’t have swallowed all that cum last
night.”  He said the recruiter also called him an “AIDS-infested bastard.”  All of this was said to have
taken place in the span of an hour with no witness present.

The Army recruiters left around 11am.  They were gone by the time other LGBTA members showed up.
When told of what happened, DJ O’Dell, a former LGBTA co-chair, reported the incident to Scott Law,
the Associate Director for Facilities and Operations.  Law, who oversees the activities that take place in
the Union, said he was disturbed by the report, and that, “obviously, the University has clear guidelines
against this sort of behavior which I am responsible for enforcing.”  According to Law, the Army will not
be able to table in the Union until a meeting between the Army and University officials takes place to
discuss the matter.  He wasn’t sure whether or not the name of the individual who harassed the LGBTA
member could be released, and said that was one of the things that would be addressed at the meeting.  He
said that he passed the information along to the Dean of Students, Carmen Vasquez, who took the matter
“very seriously.”

According to Dean Vasquez, a meeting was held at 11am on October 2.  Present at the meeting were
Vasquez, a representative from the Career Placement Center, representatives from the Diversity and
Affirmative Action Office, Polity President Andrez Carbery, and Major Greg Nell from the Army.
Vasquez said that she informed Nell that until a conclusion was reached the Army, was suspended from
recruiting on campus.  She said the Army would be doing their own investigation, which will take
approximately two weeks.  The Army and University officials will be meeting again in approximately
three weeks to discuss the result of the Army’s investigation.  According to Vasquez, the Administration’s
point of view is that when an accusation is made by a student, it is assumed to be true.  However, she
presently is not sure what action the University will take until the Army’s investigation is complete.  If the
claims are substantiated, the University will have to wait and see what action the Army takes before they
make a decision.  According to Major Nell, the Army will do “ what the chain of command deems
necessary.”  On behalf of the Army, he said, “we are always supportive of equal opportunity efforts…. The
Army takes a proactive step to ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect.”

Doug Little, Director of Public Safety and campus security, is also aware of the incident.  “The
allegations-it’s wrong.  There’s no place for it on this campus,” he said, adding, “The allegations are
appalling.”  Little said the University has specific statutes against bias crimes, which basically state that
there should be no discrimination based on race, sexual orientation, religion, etc.  He also said the identity
of the Army individual is “part of the investigation.”  Little commended the LGBTA members for
reporting the incident because, he said, too often occurrences like these go unreported and nothing can be
done about them.  Last week members of Public Safety met with some LGBTA members to review with
them what their rights in the situation were, and to encourage them to report future incidents as well.

The LGBTA member said he hadn’t experienced blatant harassment before this incident.  “I didn’t expect
it to happen on campus- I was completely shocked,” he said.  “Usually I don’t have a problem with people
on campus.”  He filed a complaint with the Affirmative Action office, which is also investigating the
matter.  The Affirmative Action office did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

The LGBTA member said he is still shaken and upset about the incident.  He also said that he doesn’t
want to press formal charges, because he is afraid to go through the process, and because he is not “out” to
his family.  Although he said he was pleased with the way University officials reacted and have been
handling the case, he still feels “frustrated by how long it’s taking.”  He also noted that since reports of
the incident began circulating around the campus, LGBTA’s weekly peer support meetings have had their
highest attendance in years.

Invoking the memory of a Wyoming college student who was killed because he was gay, DJ O’Dell said,
“This incident, occurring so close to the anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s brutal death, proves that
individuals within the gay community must still dear the consequences of self-expression.  We cannot
even consider ourselves safe from those who have sworn to serve and defend the interests of our country
and its citizens.”