Student alleges anti-Muslim hate speech Police say intruders entered student's suite, left message, then exited without incident BY MARLON S. CASTILLO Staff Reporter Several male students, one wielding a wooden plank, broke into the suite of an anti-war activist in Calhoun College March 27 and wrote a hateful note on her bedroom message board, said the victim, Katherine Lo '05. Lo said the incident occurred a day after she hung an American flag upside-down from her bedroom window to protest the war in Iraq. Yale Police Lt. Michael Patten confirmed that a group of students entered Lo's suite, wrote a message on her whiteboard and left without confrontation. Patten would not confirm additional details because the incident is still under investigation. After the group of students attempted several times to enter her bedroom, Lo said they wrote an inflammatory message on her whiteboard that was aimed at Muslims and anti-war protesters. The message contained a violent call for the killing of Iraqis and Muslims, Lo said. She said the message ended with the words, "I hate you, GO AMERICA." Police would not comment on the content of the message. Dean of Student Affairs Betty Trachtenberg called the incident "heinous." "People have a right to express themselves," she said. "People do not have a right to break in and harass students where they live." Prior to the incident, Lo said, she anticipated others would disagree with her act of protest and would search out her room in order to engage her in debate. She said she left a message on her bedroom door that defended her right to express herself. In addition to contacting police and University officials, Lo said she e-mailed the intruders' note -- which she first saw the morning after the incident -- to friends active in anti-war demonstrations and warned them of possible reprisals. Lo, who said she attended anti-war demonstrations during spring break, hung the flag -- from the side of Calhoun that faces Berkeley College -- partly out of frustration with President Bush's disregard for anti-war protests. "It was more of a symbol of distress. I'm very upset about the war our government is waging on the Iraqi people," she said. "I am upset that Bush has completely ignored public opinion of the nation and of the world." Lo said that on the evening of the incident, she was working in her bedroom when she heard a group of male students enter her common room and say, "This is the room." She said she immediately locked her bedroom door and remained silent so as not to attract attention from the trespassers. After she locked her door, the intruders approached her bedroom door and attempted to open it, Lo said. The intruders remained in her suite about seven to 10 minutes, she said. After they left, Lo said, she remained in her room until the morning of March 28, when she contacted authorities and the dean of Calhoun College. Police said Lo contacted them at 10 a.m. "During the time I was quite frightened in my room," she said. "I stayed in my room the rest of the night. I didn't know if their intent was just to remove the flag or to be violent." On April 3, Laura Hess '06 e-mailed the Yale Peace mailing list, urging students to respond by hanging upside-down flags outside of their windows just as Lo did. "This action will be a symbol of our right and ability and determination to exercise our political voices, and a demonstration that we will not be shut down," Hess said in the e-mail. Hey, people have a right to their opinion, but they have to face the consequences.
Nice try, but what these guys did is <b>illegal</b>. This is a lot different than a private organization uninviting a person to a party, or a consumer deciding not to purchase anything by an artist. Nobody should have to face criminal retaliation for their opinions...even some ****er who hangs the US Flag upside down from her window. <i>"People have a right to express themselves," she said. "People do not have a right to break in and harass students where they live."</i>
What was illegal, knocking on someone's door? All they did was walked into a common room in a suite (the way it sounds to me). That is not illegal. If there was a No Trespassing sign on that door then she may have a case. Or if she would have asked them to leave. Also best I can tell leaving someoen a note is not illegal either. I love people who try to make a statement, but then are too scared to stand up for themselves. I'll be all tough by hanging a flag but when people come about it I'll hide in my room and call the police. What a biotch.
Whether they forcefully broke in or just walked into the suite, it's still trespassing. I don't think you have to have a No Trespassing Sign hung outside your door to prevent that. They would have tried to get into her room if she hadn't locked it. Maybe more of a lawyer type could back me up, but I think what they did is definitely illegal. And can you really blame the girl for hiding in her room? She had know idea who these people were.
DC- How old are you? Have you ever lived in dorms in colleges? If walking into suites was illegal then I (and probably every other college student) should be in jail for the rest of my life. Maybe their is some legalese to it (like spitting on a sidewalk is illegal) but this is a common area. If they arrest these guys then campus public safety would be very busy busting everyone who walked into someone else's suuite. Can I blame her for hiding? Nope I expect most people who are brave enough to hang a flag upside down to be the same cowards who would lock their door, hide under their covers, and cry.
Isn't it just a common area to the suite's inhabitants? You're acting like it's a common area for the general public. Yes, I went to college, and if I walked in on complete strangers writing hateful notes in my suite, I would be ****ing pissed off. Personally, I find the act of hanging the American flag upside down despicable, but I don't think these Yale students have the right to do what they did.
Ya'll apparently missed the part where bodily harm was threatened. Sounds like a li'l form of terrorism. The irony, eh?
Bodily harm? Where did I miss that at? I see "The message contained a violent call for the killing of Iraqis and Muslims, Lo said. She said the message ended with the words, "I hate you, GO AMERICA." Police would not comment on the content of the message." So is saying I hate you threatening bodily harm? Maybe there is more to the story in another article, but I see nothing in this article about threatening bodily harm to her.
I'm 28 and it's absolutely, postively illegal to break into another person's room for something like this. In most situations, people who break into your dorm room are your friends pulling a prank...not likely you'd be interested in pressing charges in those instances. But in this instance, where someone breaks in for the purpose of harassing you or intimidating you...you bet your ass that's criminal.
So her placing a message on a message board on her own door saying she was expressing her 1st ammendment rights didn't infer that she knew someone would be looking at her board? She knew by doing what she did that people would coem to talk to her. She knew when she wrote the message. Unfortunately her bravery wore off as soon as they approached. Poor wittle girl all brave with her wittle thoughts and then scared when she was confronted about them. Go back to your wittle liberal classes, with your wittle liberal teachers and talk about the big evil world.
Also noone broke in. No doors were broken down they just walked into a common area which was unlocked. Now you can argue that was trespassing but not Breaking and Entering. But again if you enforce the trespassing you'll have your hands full.
4 Chuckie, what the hell is your problem. There was a crime committed against her, she has every right to press charges. I suppose you hate Muslims though.
Several male students, one wielding a wooden plank, broke into the suite of an anti-war activist in Calhoun College March 27 and wrote a hateful note on her bedroom message board, said the victim, Katherine Lo '05. Lo said the incident occurred a day after she hung an American flag upside-down from her bedroom window to protest the war in Iraq. Yale Police Lt. Michael Patten confirmed that a group of students entered Lo's suite, wrote a message on her whiteboard and left without confrontation. Patten would not confirm additional details because the incident is still under investigation. After the group of students attempted several times to enter her bedroom, Lo said they wrote an inflammatory message on her whiteboard that was aimed at Muslims and anti-war protesters. At the very least there was an attempt at breaking in. At the very least there were threats and intimidation. Left with a hateful message after trespassing in a suite. To say nothing criminal was done here is asinine. You may not like her response, but her response isn't on trial. They have no charges to press against her. These guys were freaking idiots and they should/will be punished for it.
they attempted to open a locked door. thats illegal any way you put it. seriously, trying to intimidate a girl just because you dont like her opinions. no balls.
So now it's illegal to think about breaking a door down? Wow. guess I better turn myself in for all kinds of stuff I've thought of. They walked into a (unlocked) suite and left her a message. She knew they were coming (she left a message on her door not the suite door). If she didn't want them in she should have locked the Suite Door. Oh well I guess I don't agree with any of you, but I have no problems with what they did (assuming they did not threaten her). They werre expressing their freedom of speech as well. THe only case (again) is if you punish them for trespassing, but I can imagine the case on that one, so you now want to enforce something that has never been enforced before. And how do you plan to enfoce it in the future?
1. Think about breaking a door down?? The article says they attempted to. 2. If I go into your house uninvited...but you leave door unlocked...is it not still trespass? 3. I'm not arguing their free speech...but you can't make threatening speech at a person and hide behind free speech. "I hate you" is likely not protected speech. It's threatening, particularly when you show up at the door with a wooden plank and try to enter her room. 4. How in the world do you know trespass like this has never been enforced before? I think their case will largely be made out of the threatening behavior these guys acted with. In Texas, she could have shot these jackasses as they attempted to break in her room, and it would have been justified as self-defense.
1. I need details, did they just turn the doorknob or try to force the door down. I am betting if they tried to beat the door down that they would have mentioned that little fact. So I am guessing they knocked on her door. 2. You can walk right upto my house but until you get inside it is not trespassing. Meaning you could walk up and ring the bell, knock on the door and that is not trespassing. Now I can ask you to leave and call the police but just by knocking on the door I don't see it as trespassing. 3. I hate you is not protected speech? I disagree. Now if I said I was going to tear off your arm and beat you with it, or lop off your head then it's a differnet story but telling someone you don't like them seems ok to me. If you are right I've got about 10 ex-girlfriends who I can sue for saying that. 4. I don't know for sure, but I would guess Yale does not pursue every person who walks into every suite uninvited. If they do attempt to prosecute the point will be brought up, ok it happened how are you going to prevent it. Yale (IMO) won't let that happen. It opens them up for way too much and adds a lot of costs (ie security to always walk around the suites or monitoring systems for each suite).
