Carroll College Incident

Seattle WA - A gay student at Carroll College, a Catholic College in Helena, MT, has withdrawn from school after being knocked unconscious and beaten in his dorm room.

The attack occurred in January, but officials of the Roman Catholic college did not inform police or students until last week, Bob Pastoor, vice president for student affairs, confirmed Friday.

Pastoor said the student, 22, was not able to identify his attackers. The school has not released the student's name, and its report to the Helena Police Department is confidential, Pastoor said.

According to available reports the student was struck on the head with a bottle as he returned to his room from the dorm showers in the early morning hours of Jan. 17, 2001. His attackers then beat him while he was unconscious.

The attacker also wrote "Die Fag" on his body with an ink marker. Cuts on the student's eye required surgery, school officials said. The dormitory where the attack occurred, Borromeo Hall, was the only dorm without a security guard. A guard is now assigned to that dorm. He withdrew from school 14 days after the attack and returned to his home in the Spokane area.

"This is exactly the type of incident that we are warning America about," said Marc Adams, executive director of HeartStrong, Inc., (www.heartstrong.org) a non profit organization which does outreach to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) students of religious schools.

"It is time to ask questions and most importantly remember that this is not an isolated incident. At many religious schools, GLBT students are attacked emotionally and spiritually by students and faculty."

"Physical and verbal attacks are not uncommon if a student is unable to hide or does not want to hide who their sexual orientation," says Adams. "We have seen this before. Unfortunately it won’t be the last time this happens."

The U.S. Department of Education has estimated that by September 2001, over 7.5 million students will be enrolled in religious schools and colleges. In its efforts to reach GLBT students at religious schools and educate the public to their plight, HeartStrong remains the one voice dedicated solely to providing hope and help to students that others have forgotten or thrown away.