Below is the detailed account of a bias crime that was committed on Ball State's campus last Thursday, May 8th. When someone committs a bias crime they aim to intimidate not just one person, but an entire community for who they are; whether it be Jewish, Asian, Transgendered, Christian, Female, etc.
A group of friends and I were standing at the corner of a street near Ball State's campus. The area is called the "University Village" and it has bars and restauraunts that students go to. A group of about 10 of us left one called Mo's that had karaoke that night. It was about 3AM and most of us had dispersed on our way home. There were 4 guys (including myself) and 1 girl left at the corner making sure everyone had a safe ride home. A few minutes later 2 men approached our group and one shoved himself into the middle of us and yelled repeatidly "shut the fuck up, faggots!" At this time, the girl (Jessica) told him to leave. She put herself between him and us, thinking he would not hit a girl. She tried to move him on his way, then entire time he's threatening us and calling us "faggots" and calling her an "ugly bitch." Then he rushed us and she grabbed him, causing him to fall in the middle of the street. This made him more angry so he got up and punched two of us in the face, threw Jessica to the ground, and shoved another into a stop sign. We fought back as much as we could, but the men (the other jumped in at this point) was twice our size. My only defense was completely ripping his shirt off him (I can only hope it was his favorite shirt).
I was punched in my eye and it put me down on the ground, my face hit the sidewalk. Brandon was also punched in the face on the cheek and Jessica was shoved to the ground and hurt her neck. Brandon and I both have visible wounds on our faces. My eye swelled up and my contact lense was pushed into the corner of my eye. I went to the ER and they told me I had a scratched cornea and that my eye would be pretty swollen for a while. I could send you a picture of what I looked like in the ER, but it's pretty messy looking.
The police were very friendly and worked with us. I could tell they were concerned and wanted to help. About 5 squad cars showed up and a few people who had witnessed it from across the street came to help.
I hope you & your friends make a full recovery from this unprovoked, unjustified attack & are able to move on with your lives.
Posted by: Mike | May 28, 2008 at 04:19 PM
I hope you & your friends make a full recovery from this unprovoked, unjustified attack & are able to move on with your lives.
Posted by: Mike | May 28, 2008 at 04:20 PM