33 Comments
What do you know–more homophobic messages. All Carman residents received an e-mail this morning from Cristen Kromm, Director of Residential Programs, about a nasty remark scrawled on a dry erase board. Kromm’s email noted that the “private joke” had “unintended consequences.” The scrawler has fessed up, and hopefully that’s the end of that.
Full e-mail posted after the jump.
From: Cristen Kromm <cs867@columbia.edu>
Date: Dec 16, 2007 11:58 AM
Subject: Important Carman Community Message
To: Multiple recipients <LISTSERV@cuvmc.ais.columbia.edu>
Dear residents of Carman Hall:
A homophobic statement was found on a dry erase board in Carman early Friday morning. The incident was reported to residential programs staff, who reported it to Public Safety according to our protocol.
The Division of Student Affairs staff investigated the matter and contacted all of the parties involved. One of the owner’s of the dry erase board has taken responsibility for the remarks. In this instance, we have learned this was intended as a joke between friends, yet, as the remarks were written in a public space open to the hall community, the private joke became a public matter.
Although the remarks did not target someone specifically, there were unintended consequences, and others in the community were impacted. This incident serves as a reminder to us all that comments, spoken or written, intentional or unintentional, can create an unwelcoming environment and disrupt your educational experience.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me via the information provided below or contact your RA for additional resources.
Best of luck to each of you as you finish your semester.
Sincerely,
Dean Cristen Kromm
Cristen Scully Kromm
Assistant Dean for Community Development/
Director of Residential Programs
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33 Comments
@and our community will not tolerate hatred…and when no blatant signs of it are present, we’ll use shit like jokes written on a dry erase board to STRENGTHEN OUR STRUGGLE!!! THE FIGHT HAS JUST BEGUN!!11!! RAWR!!!!
@to carman residents i live in claremont, and got the same email.
@this is ridiculous It’s a DRY ERASE BOARD, if it offends you, ERASE IT, THAT’S WHAT THE BOARD IS FOR
@thank you HAHAHAHA. yes.
dean kromm needs some peeeennnnniiissss
@ahahah amen to #28
@why does this even warrant an e-mail. a bias incident isn’t an incident if it isn’t illegal. and i don’t think writing on a whiteboard is illegal to me. sounds more like trying to squash free speech to me.
columbia is so full of shit. totally totally totally.
@yeah i see this kind of stuff on my floor in john jay all the time.
it doesn’t bother me, and i’m gay
@columbia is so full of shit. but that’s what makes this place fun
@hah second the favorite. made me laugh, which is much needed these days.
@Why cant we all just laugh at ourselves and our “differences” every now and again?
“White people can’t dance. I’m not being racist it’s true. Just like when white people say black people have big lips, it’s not racist it’s true. Black people have big lips, white people can’t dance. Some brothers will be in the club and white people are like, “What are those niggers doing in here?” They watchin’ y’all dance. And thy’re like, “Look at these crazy muthafuckas.” Y’all be stepping on people’s feet and hitting one another.”
@i guess the bigger question is why you’re pointing those differences out in the first place.
@Wow “Although the remarks did not target someone specifically, there were unintended consequences, and others in the community were impacted. This incident serves as a reminder to us all that comments, spoken or written, intentional or unintentional, can create an unwelcoming environment and disrupt your educational experience. ”
Yes Cristen this is what we call life. I know that many students here live in a deranged reality where they construe a “safe space” to be a few city blocks in Morningside where anything they disagree with is hidden away in the closet that used to house their sexuality but once this candy land of PC bullshit is over at graduation they will have to learn yet again to function in a world where no one gives a fuck about your “special needs”. However I’m sure that there will be some ridiculous response to this by Mercer and his ilk. Pretty soon students will be expelled for committing a thought crime.
@take a deep breath I think YOU need to relax a little bit. No one is being punished (according to the e-mail), it’s just a reminder to please keep in mind who might see your semi-homophobic/racist commments.
This is her job. What is she supposed to do when this happens? The buck stops with her on topics of residential life.
@Let me guess, Somebody drew a penis while drunk.
@lame i’m sorry, but FUCK YOU if you think something i say or write is offensive. it’s between you and me, and honestly, the fact that we disagree is reason enough to keep our “unwelcoming environment” bureaucracy out of it. i am so glad i am graduating in six months.
@not just sent to carman residents. I live in EC and I got the same email
@Stab in the dark republican. i bet it was a college republican. Let’s discuss.
@college republican I bet the people in our group are tolerant, respectful, & smart enough not to write stupid things that will upset people on their dry erase boards.
@annnnnd Matthew Brown and Steven Searles were in the college democrats.
@... Wait, so is that $1 comment what’s causing the hooplah? That’s one hell of an inside joke because it’s almost in code if you ask me…
@Ahmadinejad THESE THINGS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN IN MY COUNTRY.
@hahahah bwog, favorite that post
@ditto ditto. favorite it.
@Stab in the dark fag. i bet the word fag was written. Let’s discuss.
@OUTRAGE HOW DARE YOU USE THAT HATEFUL WORD. AAAAAHHHHHH. I AM A STRONG MAN!
@h. striker it’s amazing how fast the core curriculum can infect the minds of our pure youth and drive them to racistsexisthomophobic acts of hate speech. damn you, western philosophy! damn you and your hate!
@Oops “One of the owner’s of the dry erase board”
Owner’s? Really? Apostrophe?
@what was written? I’m assuming bwog knows since they tagged this ‘homophobia’
@Either that... Or they just read the first sentence of the e-mail
“A homophobic statement was found on a dry erase board in Carman early Friday morning”
Just a guess.
@... Did you purposely leave out the “threatening” disclaimer that came at the bottom?
“Confidentiality Notice: The information contained in this e-mail message is intended only for the personal and confidential use of the recipient(s) named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient or an agent responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this document in error and that any review, dissemination, distribution, or
copying of this message is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify me immediately by e-mail, and
delete the original message. “
@interestin i received the e-mail, and i don’t even live in carman
@just some drunk kids making a joke. jeez people can’t you develop thicker skins?
@sick of things getting blown out of proportion. Oh god, here we go again…