By Lambda Law Alliance

At Foxfield this past Sunday, two second-year law students were attacked because they are gay. Their attacker, also a law student, asked them if they were gay and if they would “prove it” by kissing. One kissed the other on the cheek. The third student then threw his drink on one and called them both “fags.”

We believe that this incident is not emblematic of a larger problem of intolerance at the Law School. The majority of students here support those with diverse backgrounds. This was reinforced by the overwhelming and immediate support the student body showed for these two students. The fact that as a community we were so surprised by this behavior indicates that ordinarily things are quite comfortable here at UVA Law. But neither the gay community here at the Law School, nor the larger community of minority students, can take this comfort for granted. Indeed, we must be ever-vigilant to assure that those who follow in our footsteps will benefit from the same levels of openness and tolerance we enjoy.

That is why we wish to remind our peers of the simple idea that all members of this community should feel welcome at major law school functions and traditions. Incidents such as this one make all students who don’t fit into the conventional beer-and-softball stereotype question whether they should participate in major annual social events. Such thinking leads to unfortunate, but not unreasonable, self-segregation.

From a broader perspective, this incident raises serious safety concerns for the gay community. We have been fortunate in Charlottesville to have witnessed no recent violence directed toward a member of the gay community. But again, we must be vigilant. What this time might be “just” a verbal slur (combined with a hurtful but not altogether harmful act), the next time could well be something more serious. This incident reminds us of the all-too-recent history of violence against gays, and causes us to be on our guard even though we are presumably “amongst friends.” This is a sad state for our Law School community. No one should be made to feel threatened at school functions.

The student who did this has already apologized to the two students he slurred. That is an important first step, and we are grateful for it. But we believe that the entire Law School community must affirm its commitment to respect the dignity of all students. If UVA Law gains a reputation for intolerance, we lose valuable insights and perspectives when minority students choose to go elsewhere. UVA already has a smaller population of women and minorities than almost all of its peer schools. Incidents like these may contribute to the perception that we do not support those with diverse views and backgrounds. We must work together to defeat that perception.

UVA Law is special. All students ought to share fully in the privilege of participating in its rich traditions and strong sense of community.

Sincerely,

The Lambda Law Alliance

Cate Dundon, President

Robin Cook, Vice President

Rob Glass, Treasurer

Chu Hwang, Events Coordinator

Aaron Coombs, Co-Communications Director

Kate Woodrow, Co-Communications Director

Anne Coughlin, Faculty Advisor

Faculty:

Kerry Abrams

Barbara Armacost

Michal Barzuza

Vincent Blasi

George Cohen

Michael P. Dooley

Michael Doran

Risa Goluboff

Toby J. Heytens

Mitchell Kane

Jody Kraus

Kim Forde-Mazrui

Richard Merrill

Thomas Nachbar

Dan Ortiz

Mildred Robinson

George Rutherglen

Richard Schragger

Stephen F. Smith

Paul B. Stephan

George Yin

Students:

Brandon Butler, President, American Constitution Society Chapter

Gena Chieco, President, American Civil Liberties Union Chapter

Chris Hammer, President, St. Thomas More Society

Tamaron Houston, President, Women of Color

Frankie Jones, Jr., President, Black Law Students Association

Liam Montgomery, President, Virginia Law Families

Shannel Naegel, President, Virginia Law Women

Lisa Perez, President, Latin American Law Organization

Chris Schroeck, President, Law Partners

Kyle Amborn

Grace Applefeld

Ravi Agarwal

Heather Axford

Becky Barnes

Matt Bergman

Natalie Blazer

Dave Brown

Daniel Burgess

Katie Burke

David Burnett

Elizabeth Carter

Marina Chase

Connie Chilton

Rebecca Clifford

Sarah Copeland

Cyndra Crenshaw

Emily Davis

Jessica De Vera

Brendan Dignan

Ryan Dougherty

Courtney Dredden

Chris Dumler

Rebecca Dunaway

Nikki Ellington

Elisabeth Falaleev

Ryan Faulconer

Stephanie Fier

Mark Finsterwald

Amy FitzHenry

Kate Flatley

Nicole Flatow

Kristin Flood

Sarah Fritsch

Vera Gerrity

Jackie Gharapour

Brandon Graves

Melany Grout

Ray Hafner

Ryan Harsch

James Ryan Harvey

Brittani Head

Emily Hedrick

Brooks Hickman

Mike Hollander

Meredith Horton

Stephen Huey

Kiana Jamison

Amy Jenkins

Dana Jupiter

Annie Kaldor

Jared Kaprove

Bryn Karaus

Kristin Keranen

David Kerastas

Stephanie Kim

Lexi Krotec

Katherine Li

Preston Lloyd

Lara Jean Loyd

Damien Lyster

Lauren Maggio

Amanda Marchand

Anna Markham

J McClendon

Sarah McCracken

Zack McDermott

Krystle Melvin

Matt Mercier

Molly Mitchell

Everton Morris

Edward Mullen

Victoria Neeley

Kristin Padgett

Jerry Parker

Lauren Paull

Dan Perell

Matt Prince

M. Adil Qureshi

Seth Ragosta

Amy Reed

Conor Reidy

Sean Rogers

Justin Ross

Rich Rothblatt

Nathan Rozsa

Renada Rutmanis

Radha Sathe

Jeremy Schildcrout

Michelle Scott

Kristin Sheppe

Ashley Shields

Jason Shyung

Luke Smith

Selina Spinos

Phil Storey

Hyorim Suh

Michael Thompson

Frank Thorn

Miranda Turner

Bill Vigen

Rob Wallis

Tyler Walters

Erin Williamson

Reggie Williamson

Rudee Wongsa

Amy Woolard

Amanda Worcester

Clare Wuerker

Felix Yeung

Kristina Yost

Robert Young

Justin Zelikovitz