Dear Dr. DeGioia,

I would like to join the community of students, faculty, administrators, alumni, and local community members in expressing my condemnation for the inexcusable series of anti-gay hate crimes which have taken place recently at Georgetown University. As a concerned citizen, I join with you in expressing my unqualified support for the victims, and unequivocally denounce the perpetrators of these acts. First, I would like to commend you for your strong support of gay rights and tolerance in the past, in particular for the establishment of Georgetown’s LGBTQ Center after an earlier anti-gay attack. I request your continued strong support for the Center, as well as for other student-led efforts to respond to and address the recent spate of anti-gay hate crimes. Second, I would also like to join concerned Georgetown students in requesting your full support for the following consensus measures: • improved communication between on- and off-campus safety organizations • promotion of a more tolerant culture within the University • increased effort to change what many students perceive as a campus culture that abets homophobia • enhanced student protection through University support for student self defense classes and other training and educational self-defense measures • support for development of a possible volunteer group to help walk students home on late nights, and • revisions to the student conduct code to make hate crimes a Type C violation such that hate crimes are treated with as much seriousness as regular assault, sexual assault, and theft. Finally, I would like to join with the Georgetown Solidarity Committee in demanding better treatment and higher salaries for Georgetown’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers. These officers provide a crucial service, but are paid roughly three dollars per hour less than campus security officers at other DC area schools. As a result, DPS is habitually understaffed and suffers from poor long-term staff retention. This situation has contributed to the lack of student safety made all too apparent by the recent spate of anti-gay crimes. I therefore support the Solidarity Committee’s proposal for a $4/hour pay increase to be phased in over the next three years for current officers, along with development of a fair staffing policy and provision of increased levels of support by the University to SafeRides, escort services, and other safety systems. Sincerely,

[Your name here]