Submitted by Charlton Stanley (Otteray Scribe), Guest Blogger
The Laramie Project is a play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project about the torture-murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student in 1998. Mutilated and almost dead, he was found tied to a barbed wire fence just outside Laramie, Wyoming. That fence was the inspiration for the play’s logo. Matthew Shepard died of his injuries shortly after being taken to a local hospital. The murder was called a hate crime, but in 1998 there were few hate crime laws, and there was none in Wyoming.
Shortly after Matthew Shepard was killed, Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project went to Laramie and interviewed dozens of local people about the murder. The play draws on over 400 hours of interviews with residents of Laramie, as well as company members’ own journal entries and published news reports. The Laramie Project is divided into three acts. Eight actors portray more than sixty characters in a series of short scenes.
The play has been performed all over the US and internationally as well. Venues have included high schools, colleges, and community theaters across the US. As of this writing, The Laramie Project has also been performed at professional playhouses in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Not surprisingly, Fred Phelps and his merry band of haters have frequently picketed The Laramie Project.
Credit: Department of Theatre Arts at the University of Mississippi
This week, The Laramie Project is on the playbill at the University of Mississippi, known to students and Southeast Conference sports fans as Ole Miss. The play has been well received, and presented without incident until last Tuesday evening. About 20 freshman football players are taking a course in the arts and part of the course requirement is for them to attend a certain number of plays. Tuesday night, the players allegedly instigated a disruption and heckling in the audience. I say “allegedly” because the investigation is still ongoing. Among other things, audience members, allegedly egged on by the players, began yelling homophobic slurs at the cast. Catcalls of “faggot,” “fag,” and worse were heard coming from the group. They encouraged other audience members to join in with the heckling, taking pictures, and generally behaving badly. Play director Rory Ledbetter said the audience reaction was “borderline hate speech.” Cast members and the characters they were portraying were heckled for their body types and sexual orientation, among other things. Ironically, only one member of the cast is gay.
“I am the only gay person on the cast,” Garrison Gibbons said. “I played a gay character in the show, and to be ridiculed like that was something that really made me realize that some people at Ole Miss and in Mississippi still can’t accept me for who I am.”
As soon as theater faculty figured out the heckling had started in the group of football players, House Director Lyda Phillips, who is a theater major and an athletics ambassador, called a coach, who then called Drew Clinton, the Associate Director of Academic Support, asking him to come to the auditorium. According to the person I talked to on campus, he was furious, ordering the student athletes to apologize for their behavior. After the play, the players went backstage to meet with the cast. One of the players acted as spokesman for the group. Some of the cast members cried at the apology.
Ole Miss Theater Department Chair Rene Pulliam was quoted by the Daily Mississippian, the student newspaper, as saying. “…I’m not sure the players truly understood what they were apologizing for.”
Rory Ledbetter told reporters, ““The football players were certainly not the only audience members that were being offensive last night, but they were definitely the ones who seemed to initiate others in the audience to say things, too. It seemed like they didn’t know that they were representing the university when they were doing these things.”
Thursday morning, head football coach Hugh Freeze sent a Tweet that has been picked up by sports media tweeted Thursday morning: “We certainly do not condone any actions that offend or hurt people in any way. We are working with all departments involved to find the facts.”
By way of background, for those who may have seen the movie, The Blind Side, Freeze was Michael Oher’s high school football coach. His real name was not used in the movie; instead, he was called “Coach Cotton.” Freeze has a reputation for being a strong leader who does not tolerate nonsense, and demands his players behave themselves at all times, insisting on excellence both on and off the playing field. As my on-campus informant told me yesterday, “Hugh Freeze is no Joe Paterno.”
The University also issued an open letter to the public and students over the signatures of Chancellor Dan Jones and Athletics Director Ross Bjork. The letter condemns the actions of the group, and makes it clear that such behavior will not be tolerated. The entire letter can be seen here.
The William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation is named after former Governor William Winter. The Institute has been active after other controversial incidents on campus, and I just learned the are now involved with this incident. They are making plans to keep more incidents like this one from happening on campus again. There are plans underway for athletes and students to attend some sort of cultural sensitivity training sessions.
Last spring, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs created the Bias Incident Response Team (BIRT). Its mission is, “…to support the university’s efforts to establish and sustain the university’s expectations around inclusivity and to provide an atmosphere that supports a healthy curricular and co-curricular experience.” BIRT Co-Chair Merrill Magruder said the cast and crew of The Laramie Project have stressed they did not want to see punitive action, but rather make this an educational opportunity for those who were in attendance.
This morning, University officials investigating the incident say they are having difficulty making positive identification of who was involved. For the individuals who have been identified, officials and faculty are not sure about the degree of involvement. Part of the problem is the fact the theater was dark.
Adding to the University administration concern is the fact that October is LGBTQ month at Ole Miss. Last Thursday there was a reception at Bryant Hall. Chancellor Dan Jones, Athletics Director Ross Bjork, and other campus leaders spoke at the reception. Student cast members and faculty advisers were also at the reception. Next week, during LGBTQ month, the University will host Pride Week. The last thing the University administration and student body leadership want is another incident.
At any rate, there will not be enough time to determine exactly who did what, and what must be done before the Auburn game today. In the body of this story I have provided links to the Daily Mississippian so the reader can follow events as news develops.
It will probably be sometime next week before decisions are made. What do you think is the most appropriate way for this university, or any other school, to handle this situation or one like it?
Mike,
I linked to the joint letter the Chancellor Jones and Athletic Director Bjork published. Here is the link for those who missed it.
http://thedmonline.com/um-release-open-letter-to-students-faculty-and-alumni/
The staff of the Daily Mississippian published a strongly worded editorial yesterday. Here it is.
http://thedmonline.com/staff-editorial-we-will-not-be-represented-by-these-prejudiced-few/
“I linked to the joint letter the Chancellor Jones and Athletic Director Bjork published. Here is the link for those who missed it.”
OS,
I read both links and who would have thought of this happening at “Ole Miss” were they as old as we are. These were the important statements that could have more lasting meaning than any token punishment.
Kraaken,
I’d also consider the terrible example set by some public figures–including religious leaders and politicians–who spew their hatred of gays and lesbians publicly.
My comment must be stuck in WordPress. Can a moderator free it?
Randy,
I knew Ross Barnett. I also know Ross Jr. He is not anything like his dad. You are right, things are changing. I also know William Winter, and he is as different from his predecessor, Ross Sr. as any two men could possibly be.
Actually given the coaches action and the reaction of the University thus far I think there may be a ray of light here. After all this is Mississippi and my notion would have been that there would have been actually a more homophobic reaction. As to what should be done I think a statement from the President of the University that behavior like this will not be tolerated in the future would be a good start. Since it is uncertain at the moment who did what, though certainly something wrong was done, I think it is too early to assess what punishment is merited, if any. However, in a State like Mississippi to have the President of “Ole Miss” make a strong statement against such actions would seem a victory.
Justice Holmes is absolutely correct. How many times as a child did my mom force me to apologize for something that I said or did and I apologized only because I was forced to. There was no meaning behind the apology I offered then, nor is there probably any meaning behind the one offered by the players now. This is the same situation. However, as much as I would like to say ‘Well, ban the team from any further competition this season’, that would only throw gasoline on an already smoldering fire.That answer is too simplistic. Nor would forcing these players into ‘sensitivity training’. I am truly at a loss as to what the best course of action would be.
Oro Lee: ‘ …actions were based on ignorance more than animus’
Being the token gay man on the blog, I would have to respectfully disagree with you on that point. With all of the emphasis just this past year on gay rights, there is no way that these actions were ‘based on ignorance’. This was animus pure and simple. The fact that little Johnny is only 18 years old and maybe away from home for the first time has nothing to do with the question. The animus shown is surely the byproduct of their upbringing and, having been born and raised in Louisiana, I am all to familiar with that upbringing because I was brought up the same way.The ‘boys will be boys’ excuse is, and should no longer be relevant.
Ignorance and animus are ugly kissin’ cousins. It’s tough to pick out one from the other often times. Particularly when they marry. Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
Ora Lee,
I can agree with most of the thoughts expressed in your post at 3:48pm with this exception: “actions were based on ignorance more than animus”
Ignorance of what? Ignorance as to how to behave in a theater? Ignorance as to how to express dislike for a play? Ignorance as to how to get yourself kicked out of a class and thus lose your eligibility to play football? Ignorance as to what sort of behavior your head coach expects from team members? Certainly, they must all have been ignorant as to one or more of those consequences but ignorant of the animus they were expressing? Not.
Don’t be hatin’ on Mississippi! This could happen in ANY state, and does.
Oro Lee, were you a drill Sgt.?
My first thought as I read this post was that whatever happens, the administration, not coaches should handle the discipline. But, I trust OS’s take on the coach so maybe he can handle the discipline. Oro Lee, IMO, nails it. So, what he said.
I remember when Gov Ross Barnett came to the murder trial of the guy who murdered Medgar Evers, and shook the accused killers hand. He made it clear that murder of uppity blacks was OK in MS. I am glad to see that the coach is not taking this lightly, and if I were one of the players, I would be plenty worried. Things are changing at Ol Miss no matter how long it took.
I have been at many sentencing hearings. Dennis Shepard spoke at the sentencing hearing for the two men who murdered his son. I have been at sentencing hearings in capital cases, but never heard anything so eloquent and powerful.
This is Dennis Shepard speaking directly to the murderers of his son:
There are twoways to make “an example” of someone — beat them down or build them up. Let’s go with a before and after approach.
They are freshmen — 18 year old boys — straight from High School where they were the Big Men on Campus — probably indicative of the majority of the JV team not just those taking the course — Ole Miss may be the first multicultural setting for all most of these boys — actions were based on ignorance more than animus — make this an educational experience — maybe attend or volunteer with Ole Miss Gay-Straight Alliance’s educational efforts
I regret that I’m not surprised. I’ve come to expect this from Mississippi, ever since school integration was enforced by the well-regulated militia, in 1962.
raff,
This not over by a long shot. I have contacts on campus, and am getting information not in the press. Coach Freeze is not going to take prisoners on this. Typically, when one player acts out, they all feel the heat. It is the other students who need to be identified before disciplinary action can be taken. The players may be thrown out of the theater class, and if that happens, it may cost them eligibility. If they do stay on the team, my guess is they will be running laps until they are stepping on their tongues.
If the university does not make horrible examples of somebody, or a bunch of somebodies, it will happen again. The cast of the play is urging no punishment, but the coaching staff and Chancellor Jones are not likely to be that forgiving.
Sad and disgusting story OS. But one that needed telling. For young adults to act in this fashion is surprising because in many respects the younger generation is much more tolerant of the LGBT community as a whole. If the University truly believes in tolerance and fairness, any football player or student found to be engaging in that activity should be disciplined.
i agree wholeheartedly with Justice Holmes
So the players apologized but won’t admit who did what? If so, I would say that was a pretty hollow apology. As to the players didn’t know…. of course the didn’t. They do not care; their bad behavior will have NO real consequences and they will still play.
I am not impressed with Ole Miss.