Incident response
To the Wheaton Community,
We were distressed to learn today that the Pride Flag that hung from Cole Memorial Chapel in celebration of Wheaton’s first LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning) Pride Month is missing and apparently stolen. The Pride Flag (also known as the Rainbow Flag) is a world-wide symbol of LGBTQ pride and embodies the history of LGBTQ social movements since the 1970s. Its theft is deeply hurtful to all of us.
At 5:35 a.m. on Thursday, while conducting a routine patrol, Public Safety noticed that the flag was missing from the chapel. Upon further investigation, the officer discovered the large wooden frame to which the flag was attached on the steps of the side entrance of Knapton Hall facing the chapel. It appeared that the flag and its frame were cut from the chapel columns and that the flag was then cut from the frame.
Wheaton’s Pride Flag was made by Monique Wright ’07 and was first hung on Wheaton’s chapel for Pride Week 2007. Since then, the flag has been hung with honor to visibly recognize the importance and positive impact that the LGBTQ and ally community has had at Wheaton.
We are convening the college’s bias incident response team tomorrow morning to understand the facts of the incident, provide support to affected individuals and groups, to monitor the college’s ongoing investigation of it, and to determine and shape the college’s overall response.
Persons with information related to this incident are strongly urged to contact either the Dean of Students Office or the Public Safety Department.
We will continue to communicate with the Wheaton community as more information becomes available and we move forward with our response to this unfortunate incident.
Lee Burdette Williams Gabe Amo ‘10
Vice President and Dean of Students President, Student Government Association
October 24 2009 05:23 pm | News & Announcements