The College Voice

Issue date: 2/18/10 Section: News

Media Credit: Dmitry Gurvits Mercer Security Officer # 142 restraining Caitlyn Nixon during heated debate, as LGBTFers look on.

Media Credit: Dmitry Gurvits Audio 1 - Heated discussion

Media Credit: Dmitry Gurvits Audio 2 - Personal experiences

The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transsexual and Friends club clashed with campus security over a club sponsored kiss-in event held in the Mercer County Community College cafeteria on the West Windsor campus at noon on February 18, 2010.

A kiss-in is a common event in which gay couples kiss in public places to help raise awareness of anti-homosexual discrimination. The goal is to promote productive discussion and thought about gay rights. Kiss-ins are often held on college campuses but there is also a large scale annual kiss-in held in Times Square in New York City each year on the anniversary of the end of World War II. Recently kiss-ins have also been used near Mormon temples to protest the anti-gay stance of the Mormon church.

Mercer's LGBTF club had received permission from the Student Government Association to hold the event on February 11, but the school was closed due to snow that day. The group reorganized the event for February 18.

Student Government president Brianna Lacava, in a meeting directly following the kiss-in, said to the LGBTF club members assembled, "I was under the impression that the event that you just had was going to be the opposite of what it actually turned out to be. I know that you were supposed to be in the quad. So I know that definitely plays a big part in it. I thought it was just going to be a whistle was blown, a couple kisses were given, a couple things were said, but obviously it wasn't. I don't know where it went wrong. I know the security guys did not like the whistles in the building and the fact that this is such a large group and that you were in the hall."

The kiss-in began at 12:25PM when 12 members of the LGBTF club took up positions around the cafeteria and student lounge and began kissing. Some club members also blew whistles and shouted affirmations including: "God loves us! God loves homosexuals!" The first kissing session lasted approximately one and a half minutes.

Next the kiss-in participants moved into the hallway joining the cafeteria and dining room and took a few moments to regroup before heading into the cafeteria for kiss number two.

At that point, three Mercer Security officers asked them to disperse, citing a hazard to a disabled student trying to pass through the hall and noting that the whistles sounded like a fire alarm.

The kiss-in participants complied by putting down their whistles and moving to one side of the hallway so that they were not blocking foot traffic.

As student Michael Stroud, who was one of the participants who had been blowing a whistle, set his whistle down on top of a nearby trash can, a security officer said, "If you're not using [the whistle], you might as well throw it away." Stroud responded, "well, you don't have to be all up in my grill." The officer said, "Well you don't have to be smart about it." Stroud repeated "well you don't have to be all up in my grill," and walked away. According to multiple participants, as soon as Stroud was no longer within earshot the security officer said "Shut the fuck up, asshole."

The officer in question would only provide his badge number #142 to students who asked his name. Chief of Security John Raimondi refused to identify any of the officers participating (he was not present). Bryon Marshall, Director of College Safety was on vacation and did not respond to three phone calls for comment.

Several students commented that it was strange that security would not provide their names, even though students are required to keep their student ID's visible at all times on campus and the officers did take several of the ID's and write the participants' names down.

Undeterred by the security presence at 12:33 the LGBTF moved back into the cafeteria and prepared to kiss again. It was at this point that the group first met physical resistance.

Brandon Lichtenstein, 19, and Daniel Beauchamp, 19, were kissing. William Downs, Dining Services Assistant Manager, apparently made physical contact with Lichtenstein. "[Downs] shoved us around and said 'you guys gotta get out'" said Lichtenstein, pointing to his collar bones where he had been pushed, adding, "he came up to us and he was like 'excuse me you guys have to take this outside.'" (Audio clip 2 provides and excerpt from an interview with Lichtenstein and Beauchamp directly following the incident).

At the same time, as they were participating in the last kiss of the event, Francesca Scirocco, president of the LGBTF, says that the same security officer physically separated her and her girlfriend, during their kiss.

"When I told him not to touch me or her, he said 'I can do what I want, watch me' and pulled me apart from her again…The same guy pulled Ian [Conely] and Pat [Martin] apart too," said Scirocco.

At this point the situation reached what LGBTF club faculty advisor, Alex DeFazio (full disclosure: also an assistant advisor to The College Voice) described as a "fever pitch." DeFazio says he then attempted to bring group members to the SC 211 conference room for debriefing.

"I had a sense that I and the members might start to lose control of the safety of everybody," said DeFazio. He added "I knew security wasn't happy…I saw them shadowing us…I had seen [Stroud] get into a bit of a confrontation…about the whistle."

By 12:48 PM, Security Officers had stopped the event and Scirocco and other LGBTF members engaged in an active, heated debate with two Mercer security officers for roughly ten minutes. (Excerpts from the conversation can be heard on Audio Clip 1.)

LGBTF participants were particularly upset at having been told they were behaving "like animals" by security, noting that heterosexual couples frequently make-out in the student center and are not forced to stop.

Scirocco does acknowledge that the goal of the event was to provoke discussion, but indicates she did not expect the resistance from security for an SGA sanctioned event. "We wanted a reaction, and that's exactly what we got. It wasn't that we wanted a negative reaction, a bad reaction. We wanted a reaction."

Asked about the SGA's authorization of the event, Scirocco said "At the last SGA meeting (held February 4) we did let them know it was going on inside. It may have been just a miscommunication. They aren't upset with us and they heard us out. They reacted very very well." She added, "We got apologies from them later. We are going to speak to them a little more and apologize to them for miscommunications."

As the event was happening, Mercer student's reactions were mixed. "We actually got a really good response from students, we had a few derogatory terms said, some food was thrown at us, but overall we got applauded," said Scirocco.

Prof. DeFazio said "there was a lot of noise, by onlookers that were actually there eating… A lot of was laughter, cheering and some of it was jeering and name calling."

"I honestly don't have a problem with homosexuals, but I don't think that's how they need to express themselves. Personally, I don't want to see any express themselves like that, whether they are gay or straight. Kudos to them though, for having the courage to actually do that in public," said Alisha Pollard, a second year Mercer student.

It is not clear what will happen as a result of the incident. The LGBTF club has released an official statement and is considering taking action against the school for civil rights violations. Questions are also raised regarding the Student Code of Conduct which prohibits "Actions that impair, interfere with, or obstruct the normal operations of the college and or interfere with the rights of other members of the college community or visitors." It is not clear whether an SGA sanctioned event constitutes such a disruption.

Matt White, Veronica Furman and Sara Gatling contributed reporting.

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