Books About Gay Issues Vandalized At Harvard

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Police at Harvard University say they are investigating vandalism to about 40 books about lesbian and gay issues at a school library as a hate crime.

Security staff at Lamont Library said in a report filed with campus police on Friday that it appeared someone poured urine on the books on Nov. 24. An empty bottle was found nearby.

A police spokesman tells The Crimson student newspaper that all the books were about lesbian, gay and same-sex marriage issues.

Library spokeswoman Beth Brainard says it took so long to report the incident because staff wanted to assess the value of the books. She says they were worth several thousand dollars and will be discarded.

Marco Chan, co-chairman of the Harvard College Queer Students and Allies, called the incident "disconcerting."

Comments

[DMDAY44]

07:39 AM on 12/15/2010

Carrying around a bottle of urine, huh? Probably some aspiring artist looking for a crucifix to drop inside.

[Ioan Lightoller]

02:23 PM on 12/14/2010

Accident. huh? Someone just "accidentally" happened to be carrying around a bottle of urine and "accidentally" splashed it all over the GLBT books. Yeah right.

[ixington]

11:20 AM on 12/14/2010

After conducting an investigation in reponse to a recent police report that 36 books treating LGBT topics had been damaged with what appeared to be urine in Lamont Library last month, the University determined Monday morning that the incident was an accident and will no longer be treated as a hate crime, according to a statement sent from College Dean Evelynn M. Hammonds to the Harvard community on Monday.

[goijra]

09:53 AM on 12/14/2010

Our future leaders in action, is their anyway we trade this crop in for something more useful like horse manure?

[black series]

12:08 AM on 12/14/2010

I can watch some lesbian actions but gay is like WTF. Never.

[adoantarel]

12:43 AM on 12/14/2010

No one is asking you to watch. In fact, we're asking you to ignore and live your life.

[Ioan Lightoller]

02:21 PM on 12/14/2010

Get over your big "turn-on", OKAY? Lesbians do not exist for your titillation. We exist because we simply ARE and are attracted to our own gender. No one wants you to watch anything. Just stay out of our lives and don't try to block us getting full civil rights in this country. Now, is that too hard for you to do?

[Ioan Lightoller]

02:40 PM on 12/14/2010

Sick, pervert hater.

[LMPE]

11:26 PM on 12/13/2010

Find out who did this and send them tapes of gay pride parades.

[senseandnonsense]

06:54 AM on 12/14/2010

Send them magazine subscriptions of gay publications.

[gene-garcon]

06:11 PM on 12/13/2010

Who would've thought it happen at Harvard.

[Luckylee218]

03:16 AM on 12/24/2010

My initial thought as well.

[nheer]

05:56 PM on 12/13/2010

HUPD has ruled that it was not a hate crime but an accident:
http://college.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k61161&pageid=icb.page258888&pageContentId=icb.pagecontent557848&view=view.do&viewParam_name=Lamont#a_icb_pagecontent557848

[Ioan Lightoller]

07:59 PM on 12/13/2010

Ja. sure, you betcha

[Lily99]

08:05 PM on 12/13/2010

Someone just accidentally too a bottle of urine into the library and then had the misfortune to accidentally spill said urine only on LGBT books?

Hey, look, it's a flying pig!

[beasteben]

04:39 PM on 12/13/2010

Future leaders of America.

[CHMB]

04:21 PM on 12/13/2010

Disgusting.

[Jdaddy1951]

04:09 PM on 12/13/2010

Hate crime.
 
Get fingerprints, identify, suspend, terminate and/or imprison.

[DannyEVillage]

07:07 PM on 12/22/2010

all of the above--and PUBLICIZE WIDELY.

[Jdaddy1951]

05:37 AM on 12/24/2010

Agreed.

[SalesmanForLife]

09:26 PM on 12/23/2010

I dont know, imprison? Just offer them some counciling and public service. So many of our problems are NOT solved in a prison.

[Jdaddy1951]

05:37 AM on 12/24/2010

So while he or she is in counseling, they can have opportunity to vandalize MORE books?

[13champlain]

03:03 PM on 12/13/2010

knuckleheads are still out there...but time will weed them out.

[HSC55]

02:59 PM on 12/13/2010

As more and more of the population is coming to accept homosexuals, there seems to be a fanatic homophobic element that is getting more and more violent in response to that. There was another article I read recently that said gays in school are bullied more now than ever before, even though most people accept them and could care less if they were gay or straight. Perhaps these homophobes are feeling so threatened because it isn't hidden anymore and it is accepted by the majority. I see the same thing happening with religion. Atheists are finally finding a voice and suddenly they are labeled 'militant atheists' by worried christians. And the 'war on christmas' myth has also sprung up in response to more outspoken atheists. People don't like change, especially when it seems to attack their core beliefs.

[Ioan Lightoller]

07:58 PM on 12/13/2010

F&F. This is my perception, too, HSC55. I have never seen hate speech and hate crimes so open and the speech so virulent since coming out in 1972.

[DanSc]

02:09 PM on 12/13/2010

I'm not sure if vandalism is the same as censorship

[RapidProf]

03:45 PM on 12/13/2010

It's not.

[senseandnonsense]

06:59 AM on 12/14/2010

Vandalism does not have to be the same as censorship but it can be the same as censorship. Who would read those books after the crime?