The Village, which is located on the third floor of the Student Center, is a floor full of community and student organizations. But organization members were shocked to find an offensive letter outside the QPOC offices – the Queer People of Color organization. Run by students, their meeting the following day focused on the letter as the group had never been targeted in this way before.
The letter used racist and homophobic slurs, insulting the group and its members. The organization, which is based on welcoming people into a safe, friendly environment, has been trying to remain positive. Communication Chair Natasha McCombs said that they have been focusing on positivity and moving past the personal attack with fun, supportive meetings.
Though the group may be moving on, the investigation is far from complete. The case was turned over to Temple Police, but the culprit has not been caught as of yet. The blame is being placed on the lack of security cameras in the Village. Only one camera is located in the entire section, far away from the offices. Because of this, they fear it is unlikely the person will be caught.
However, students and other organizations are standing up for QPOC. Temple students denounced the event, including Adam Ebndaoud, who stated, “We are a community of different races, different people, opinions…so we have to respect each other and live together.”
Major organizations like the BSU and NAACP, to Temple’s own Asian Student Association, have all agreed to meet with QPOC to show their support. Overall, the members hope that this upsetting event can bring the community together, rather than tearing it apart.
More information about Queer People of Color can be found on their Facebook page or at https://temple.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/templeqpoc.
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