UPDATE: Alleged UNC Campus Assault Report Was False
4/12/2011 - University officials are now saying a University of North Carolina student who alleged he was assaulted on Chapel Hill campus made a false report. Chancellor Holden Thorp issued a statement late Tuesday afternoon that, "The Department of Public Safety has determined that the alleged aggravated assault reported to campus last night did not occur. That report, filed with campus police on April 5, was false. The University will not report it as a hate crime."
Freshman Quinn Matney told police he was assaulted outside of his South Campus dorm on April 4. According to Mattney, his assailant called him an anti-gay slur, and pressed a hot piece of metal to his left wrist. UNC-Chapel Hill officials planned to report the incident as a hate crime to the federal government. “As a university community, we condemn this act of violence,” Thorp said in a statement Monday.
The full text of Thorp's Tuesday follow-up statement appears below:
SUBJECT: Police Determine False Report on Aggravated Assault
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:
The Department of Public Safety has determined that the alleged aggravated assault reported to campus last night did not occur. That report, filed with campus police on April 5, was false. The University will not report it as a hate crime.
It is important to recognize that incidents of harassment do occur. When they do, we take them seriously. We strive to foster a welcoming, inclusive and safe environment at Carolina. We recognize that this has been a difficult time for campus. Members of the community who feel they need to discuss what has happened are encouraged to contact the Dean of Students Office at 919-966-4042;
Counseling and Wellness Services at 919-966-3658 or 919-966-2281 after hours; LGBTQ Center at 919-843-5376; Diversity and Multicultural Affairs at 919-962-6962; or Human Resources' Employee Assistance Program at 919-929-2362.
Sincerely,
Holden Thorp
Our original post appears below.
4/12/2011 - On April 4, 2011, gay University of North Carolina student Quinn Matney alleged he was assaulted near a foot bridge on the Chapel Hill campus. His attacker reportedly called him a derogatory name, told him, "here is a taste of hell," and branded his wrist with a heated metal object, leaving the freshman with third and fourth-degree burns. In a letter to students yesterday, UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp announced that "the University plans to report this incident as a hate crime to the federal government."
Equality North Carolina has been in touch with friends of the victim and connected him with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Civil Rights unit when we learned of the incident Monday morning.
On Thursday, University officials will meet with leadership from UNC's Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender and Straight Alliance (GLBTSA) in an open forum about this incident. The LGBT student organization has been openly critical about the University's slow response and purported failure in acknowledging the hate crime until several days after it occurred. As Jeff Deluca, co-president of GLBTSA, told WRAL News, "It is shock and sadness that something like this could happen on campus and go pretty much unnoticed." Police are still investigating the incident. No charges have been filed.
This vicious attack sheds light on the bullying and harassment facing LGBT students on today's college campuses. According to Campus Pride's report, 2010 State of Higher Education For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender People, "Colleges and universities are failing to provide LGBTQQ people with an environment that research suggests is necessary for learning and scholarship: Less than seven percent of accredited U.S. institutions of higher education offer institutional support; thirteen percent include sexual identity policy protections; and six percent include gender identity and expression policy protections."
As Equality NC continues its fight against all forms of anti-LGBT discrimination, including a recently-proposed anti-LGBT amendment that prohibits legal recognition of LGBT relationships, we acknowledge our community currently faces all forms of attacks, on all sides--from the halls of our legislature to the pulpits of our churches to the campuses of our schools. "This vicious attack on a gay student is a reminder that a culture that tolerates anti-LGBT hatred under the guise of religious belief has very real, very harmful consequences," said Ian Palmquist, Equality NC's Executive Director. "When preachers preach that gay people are evil and state legislators advance bills that single out gay people for discrimination, it is no surprise that some will take the next step and use violence to send a message that LGBT people are unwelcome and unworthy of being treated with decency in our state. The majority North Carolinians want their LGBT neighbors to be treated fairly, and it's time for them to speak out against all forms of anti-gay discrimination and violence."
