Community responds to gay bashing near campus

The two men charged in the gay bashing of two University of Cincinnati students near the Main Campus will each reappear before a judge within the next week.

Ethan Kirkwood, 20, of Meadow Creek Drive in Anderson Township, and Matthew Kafagolis, 20, of Ramundo Court in Anderson Township, were arrested on two counts of felonious assault and released on bond. Since the arrest, the charges have been dropped to two counts of misdemeanor assault, according to the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Web site. The charges were lowered on March 20 and March 19, respectively.

The maximum penalty for a misdemeanor assault charge is less than one year in jail.
Kirkwood will appear before a judge Thursday, April 2, and Kafagolis will be in court again Wednesday, April 8. Neither Kirkwood nor Kafagolis are UC students.

The two men are being charged with allegedly assaulting two men – both are UC students – after the men found out one of the victims was gay, around 4 a.m., Friday, March 6, in the 2500 block of Clifton Avenue.

The gay man was knocked to the ground, kicked and punched after the assailants found out he was gay, according to court records. The other victim was attempting to defend his friend when he was also beaten.

Both students are recovering and doing well, according to Cody Globig, a first-year English student, and student activist for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender community.
“[The attack] definitely shook us up a little bit,” Globig said. However, safety is an ongoing concern.

While Ohio and Cincinnati do not include sexual orientation or gender identity qualifiers in their hate crime legislation, the March 6 gay bashing is being considered a hate crime by UC students and supervisors like Barb Rinto, director of the Women’s Center.

The UC student who identified himself as a gay man was called a “faggot and gay,” according to court records.

Hate crimes tend to be underreported because victims do not want to relive what happened, Rinto said.

Of the reported hate crimes, 11 percent take place at schools and colleges, and in 1994, people under the age of 20 carried out half of all committed hate crimes, according to Partners Against Hate, which is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Education.

In a Gallup Poll conducted in 2007, 68 percent of Americans favored expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Though Ohio does not include sexual orientation or gender identity in its hate crime legislation, Kentucky hate crime laws do include sexual orientation. Legislation in 11 states includes both sexual orientation and gender identity.

The LGBT community at UC has asked the university for a full-time coordinator and a meeting space. This year, the group was given a space in Steger Student Life Center for meetings, but has not yet received a full-time coordinator, something students say most universities have for the LGBT community.

Though the university recognizes the need for the position, budget cuts and limitations make funding the position difficult, according to Mitch Livingston, the chief diversity officer.

“There is a part-time individual who provides support and we’re discussing ways to beef that up,” Livingston said. “We’re in the midst of budget environment that could mean cutting 11 positions so we can’t make the commitment right now for a full-time staff person. We have already committed to keep the part-time individual.”

The UC Police Department sent an e-mail to students informing them of the gay bashing on March 18. Cincinnati Police were called to the scene and did not alert UCPD which caused a delay in information. It was not until Globig and Blake Jelley, a first-year political science student, brought the assault to UCPD’s attention.

“We had a response from UCPD within 10 minutes,” Globig said. Globig credits UCPD with contacting Cincinnati Police quickly to get information concerning the assault to alert students.

Once the university community was alerted, students and Cincinnati community members rallied together in a peaceful march from the corner of Calhoun Avenue and Clifton Avenue to Martin Luther King Boulevard.  Approximately 150 people – with representatives from area universities, the LGBT community and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays – were in attendance, including Livingston and Greg Hand, UC spokesman. Hand was at the front of the march helping to carry a rainbow flag.

Another rally is scheduled for 12:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 7, on McMicken Commons, in support of a full-time LGBT staff person and center.

Judy Shepard, whose son – Matthew Shepard – was murdered for being gay, is scheduled to speak at UC, 7 p.m., Monday, April 6, at Tangeman University Center’s Great Hall.