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Swarthmore campus abuzz over possible gay-bashing

Was it gay-bashing or "ville rat" revenge? A Swarthmore college student and his friend told police that a group of teens had attacked them after they refused to buy the teens alcohol and called them ville rats, a campus insult for local kids who skateboard and try to sneak into parties at the elite liberal-arts college.

Was it gay-bashing or "ville rat" revenge?

A Swarthmore college student and his friend told police that a group of teens had attacked them after they refused to buy the teens alcohol and called them ville rats, a campus insult for local kids who skateboard and try to sneak into parties at the elite liberal-arts college.

But the victims later told school administrators that they may have been attacked because they are gay and were being openly affectionate.

The attack has been the talk of the uber-liberal, peace-loving campus since Sunday morning, when the 21-year-old Swarthmore student and his 22-year-old University of Pennsylvania friend were beaten by five to seven teens after leaving a party.

That the two would be attacked at a school accepting of queer culture - a big event is this Saturday's gender-bending cross-dressing party - has been an eye-opener for some.

"It's unsettling and disturbing," said junior Adam Bortner, 21, of Maryland, who knows one of the victims. "A lot of people don't feel comfortable. It calls into question this being a safe place where this never happens and it's OK to hold hands with someone of the same sex and not fear repercussion."

Administration officials say they are stepping up security on campus and at this weekend's party.

"When something like this happens, both the college and Swarthmore Borough is going to take this seriously," dean of students Liz Braun said.

The Swarthmore student, who has not been identified, told the student newspaper, the Daily Gazette, that a group of high school students had approached him and his friend and asked them for alcohol.

He asked them three questions: Are you high schoolers? Are you ville rats? Are you underage?

When the group responded yes to all three, the college student declined to get the booze. That was when they were hit and kicked in the head and neck, he told the paper.

After the teens ran away, the victims went to the health center and reported the attack to public safety and Swarthmore police. They were checked out overnight at a hospital and returned to school the next morning. They had cuts and bruises.

Swarthmore Police Chief Brian Craig said the victims hadn't mentioned that their sexual orientation might have played a part in the assault.

But Monday morning, the Swarthmore student told Rafael Zapata, director of the college's Intercultural Center, about his suspicions.

Braun said the college initially had sent out a "bare-bones" e-mail Monday about the incident. But after talking to the student Monday night, she sent out another e-mail Tuesday morning, mentioning that the students could have been targeted because they are gay and were being affectionate, including holding hands.

She said borough police planned to reinterview the students.

Violence on the 400-acre campus, 11 miles from Philadelphia, is extremely rare, Braun said. High school students do wander over "to use the library or skateboard . . . but it hasn't been a pervasive problem," she said.

While homophobia is virtually unheard of at the school, which is known for its rigorous intellectual character as well as for its social responsibility and Quaker heritage, Bortner said teens had taunted him in downtown Swarthmore last year.

They first asked him and a friend for alcohol and marijuana, then joked about having a gun and taking their money. Finally, they shouted, " 'Why don't you go kill yourselves, you . . . faggots?' " he recalled.

An incident like that "gives me reason to believe part of the motive [for the attack] was this discomfort or disgust with people who aren't straight," he said. "I really doubt if a male and female student were walking and showing affection there would have been this violent aspect. I do think the bias played a part in it."

He said his friend was "pretty resilient" and "trying to take everything in stride" and might not have reported his gay-bashing suspicions at first because he had been in shock and not thinking clearly.

Another student, junior Cecily Bumbray, 21, of Washington, D.C., said many on campus felt that the administration was too slow in providing information.

"We haven't heard a lot from public safety," she said.

She said kids from Swarthmore village - hence, ville rats - often skateboarded around campus or tried to sneak into parties but usually didn't cause trouble.

Regardless, calling them ville rats is "rude," she acknowledged.

Roger Chin, 19, a sophomore from Orange County, Calif., said a teen had thrown a rock at his friend's car windshield last year.

"I'm at the gym a lot, and they're wandering around," he said. "They seem bored."