Almost 200 people crowded the quad behind Augustana College’s student center on Oct. 4 to demonstrate for the tolerance of diversity and against bigotry, the Quad-City Times reported.
The rally was a response to a series of anti-gay incidents on the Rock Island campus that have taken place since the beginning of the semester. PRISM—an advocacy group that supports LGBT students—had its mailbox destroyed and several students had messages like ‘you are a gay faggot’ scrawled on their dorm doors.
Speakers at the rally wanted to send a message that such acts are rare, isolated and will not be tolerated. ‘This is not what Augustana is representative of,’ according to Greg Stopka, the Student Government Association president.
Members of the Augustana administration and faculty showed up in great numbers and have been actively investigating the incidents and looking for the perpetrators.