Bucknell hires Philly law firm to investigate incident at LGBTQ+ house

May 18—Bucknell University retained a Philadelphia law firm to investigate the actions of 20 male students accused of attempting to break into an LGBTQ+ housing unit and harassing residents there on May 13.

The investigation will also look into the response by officers from the university's Department of Public Safety while investigating the incident at Fran's House, university spokesman Mike Ferlazzo said. Cozen O'Connor has specialized expertise in investigating incidents on college and university campuses.

Public Safety officers on Thursday were requested to respond to Fran's House when an estimated 20 male students arrived outside the property, banged on windows and doors, flashed the residents, tried to climb through a window and urinated on the porch.

, repeatedly struck a metal bar against a flag pole on which a pride flag hangs, tried to climb through a bathroom window and urinated on the porch, according to Tyler Luong, residential adviser at Fran's House.

Luong said Public Safety officers' response was slow and that when officers arrived, they fraternized with the alleged perpetrators and failed to interview Fran's House residents. In a letter to Bucknell President John Bravman, Luong identified the students as members of the former TKE chapter at the university.

On Saturday, residents of Fran's House called on Bucknell to establish the property as the permanent residence of the LGBTQ+ community on campus and to hold students and Public Safety officers accountable. They declined, for now, to be interviewed by The Daily Item as they focus on spring semester finals this week.

In the collective statement released by the residents ahead of a solidarity march that night, they thanked the extended Bucknell community for its support and expressed that they must stand up for themselves and support one another.

"What happened to this house is abhorrent. Appropriate actions must be taken by the Bucknell Administration to ensure nothing like this will ever happen again," the online statement reads.

Former frat houseFran's House is among several affinity house residences established at Bucknell linking like-minded students. Fran's is housing deemed LGBTQ+ friendly, inclusive and gender-neutral. It had once been home to the Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity chapter that was banned from campus in 2019.

The residents demanded that Fran's House be made the permanent home for the LGBTQ+ community so that no one ever "feels entitled to come to our home and say it's 'their house and not ours.'" They also pledged full compliance for the university's independent investigation and called for accountability for the students and Public Safety.

Bravman and other administrators issued a statement Friday condemning the actions against Fran's House and pledging an independent investigation both into the students' actions and the response by officers from Bucknell's Department of Public Safety.

"It is clear from multiple accounts that the students violated the physical space and, far more importantly, the residents' sense of place and security. Further, it is equally clear that Bucknell Public Safety's response to the incident was lacking in myriad ways," the statement read.

'Not an isolated incident'Assistant professor of English Chase Gregory and Bucknell student Jillie Santos helped organize Saturday's solidarity march in support of residents of Fran's House and the campus LGBTQ+ community as a whole. Gregory estimated 200 people attended. Their march processed past frat houses and the president's home.

Santos said she was upset but not surprised by the incident at Fran's, saying that "harassment and exclusionary behavior from Greek life are normalized at Bucknell." She was critical of Public Safety's response, particularly in an academic year when police misconduct has been at the forefront of conversations about safety on campus.

"Solidarity marches and other collaborative events are incredibly powerful in communicating that we support one another and that we demand change. One of the call-and-responses chanted at the event was 'Only Together, We Are Safe' — this was certainly an important message to asseverate following the incident, which not only affirmed our collective support but confronted that, in this moment, we are not safe," Santos said.

Gregory said there were three objectives: Show support for LGBTQ+ students, keep the incident in the public eye so it's not ignored by university administration, and raise broader issues about sexual assault and Greek life.

"This kind of thing is a pattern at Bucknell. It's not an isolated incident," Gregory said. "Institutional memory at Bucknell seems to be quite short. We're forcing people to look at it and not sweep it under the rug."

Associate Professor of Anthropology Clare A. Sammells mobilized faculty, staff and community members to keep watch on Fran's House during certain hours overnight Friday and Saturday. More than 70 people signed up to cover a shift, Sammells said.

"Faculty were quite upset, and wondering how to best support our students in a way that made them feel safe and appreciated without imposing. I reached out to one of the students at Fran's House and offered to arrange for faculty members to be present outside their house on Friday and Saturday. The idea was simply to be present and make the students feel safe. They accepted," Sammells said.