"George" cont...

(continued from page 1)

Freshman Tom Hiscott com-
mented that regardless of their
symbolism, the painting of the
triangles was too extreme a form
of expression, although George
was "denying somebody else the
chance to express themselves.”

Others claimed that those
confronting George were more
interested in seeking revenge
against George than in educating
him. "The confronting parties
were very self-righteous. They
wanted to punish him - they
wanted him to feel some pain,”
said Sophomore Dawn Millman.
Chris Ptomey, also a sophomore,
agreed with Millman. "We need
to get beyond enforcing values
and punishing people, and get to
the heart of the matter."

But many saw George’s ac-
tions as inexcusable regardless of
the surrounding circumstances.
"Just because he didn’t intend it
to be homophobic, it was," said
one student. Another mentioned
that "We can’t just look at these
incidents as isolated incidents -
they must be taken in the context
of his previous actions.”

The meeting was moderated
by Honor Council Chairperson
and Senior John Markman, who
asked, "Can we disassociate the
way you express what you’re
feeling from the substance of
what you’re saying?” Markman
told the gathering, that George
had said during the trial, "I was
the only Jew in my high school --
how can you tell me I don’t know
what it’s like to be a minority?"