Until the evening of Sept. 10, I had always been proud to be a Georgetown student. After spending two years here on the Hilltop, I had learned in and out of the classroom about the importance of treating people as equals and granting them the dignity they deserve. I had watched as disasters occurred around the world and within our own borders and, within days, Georgetown students, faculty and administrators had formed groups, coalitions and initiatives to alleviate the suffering of the affected populations.

Although I had never encountered the Jesuits before Georgetown, I slowly learned of their ideals that challenge us to find God in all things and live lives of service for others. By my sophomore year I had realized that Georgetown was the perfect match for me. I was convinced that it was exactly what I needed in my attempts to become a more knowledgeable and, more importantly, a better Catholic woman and human being. It is because of how much I love this school and our community that I now find myself so deeply angered and disappointed.

As a result of leading a pre-orientation service program for freshmen and transfers, I had the privilege of meeting Kevin Bowles. I could tell Kevin was a natural born performer. He had the ability to make people laugh, regardless of whether it was those we served or the fellow Hoyas with whom we served. With his intelligence, quick wit and desire to serve, I was sure that Kevin would have no problem fitting into the Georgetown community and I figured he would quickly find a niche.

But, there was one thing that I had forgotten to take into account: Kevin was also openly gay. I admit I did not even think that this would be an issue since my personal experience here had led me to believe that all students were at Georgetown to better understand diverse people, cultures and countries. I was wrong.

On the night of Sept. 10, as he was coming home from a party, Kevin was the victim of hate crime here at Georgetown. He was physically assaulted by a group of students, who simultaneously verbally attacked him for his sexual orientation. “Fag,”cocksucker” and “fucking homo” are simply a few of the things Kevin heard that night.

The next day Kevin wanted to transfer out of Georgetown. As he told me, he could not understand how he would survive four years here when this was how he was “welcomed” in September.

When Kevin first shared this with me, I was completely outraged. I simply could not accept in 2005 at this Catholic and Jesuit institution that a person had not only been judged and discriminated against, but also physically and verbally attacked for his sexual orientation.

Over the past month Kevin and I have been giving much thought to what we could do, who we could contact, what event we could plan, to prevent these acts of hate from happening. But, we have realized, this is not simply my or Kevin’s responsibility. embers of the Georgetown community, this is our responsibility. With this incident, the integrity of our school and the spirit of our community have both been insulted.

Let’s get past the stage where we simply point fingers at “the minority who discriminates” while we pat ourselves on the back for being “tolerant.” It is simply not enough to be tolerant. We are called in the mission of this school to celebrate and learn from the differences we each bring to the Georgetown community, not to simply “put up” with each other.

I know that this incident is not a reflection of the Georgetown of which I am so proud. I challenge us not to keep this a secret, not to pretend like it never happened, to not simply accept this as an excusable drunken accident. If we ever hope to be considered a truly “diverse” campus, not simply by the statistics on a brochure but by the feelings of our students, we must act. We must ask questions, raise awareness and discuss these issues of discrimination that are clearly still prevalent on our campus today.

As Georgetown students we are well known for stepping up and speaking out in our lectures, discussion sections, seminars and papers. We are not embarrassed to share our views on the current state of our country and the world, and we love to tell whoever will listen what we think can be done more effectively. I know we have both the ability and the resources to address tough issues outside the classroom as well. All we need now is the will and the desire to make a change. My fellow Hoyas, we can no longer be silent. Let’s step it up and speak out!

Pilar Siman is a junior in the School of Foreign Service.