Sign abuse

What a week! Monday, after I taught my first three classes, I returned to my office where I met a student. The office manager came by and told me she needed to talk to me. I found out that someone had written a very crude remark on my "I don't sell books" sign.

My Esteemed Spouse told me that such a comment constituted a hate crime (hate speech), so I decided to report it. The upshot was that I had several meetings with deans, Diversity Office, campus security, human resources. I also used the defacing of my sign as a teaching tool for all my classes. In particular, I used it in Women's and Gender Studies, as an example of how people want to put women down by using sexually charged language. And of course, women also are usually the target of "size" language, as well.

One of my students could not believe that I did not care whether they ever caught who wrote the comment. I don't. It won't remove the experience from my memory, and I would be forced to put a face to someone who has expressed hatred toward me. I'll admit, now I'm going down the hall looking at strangers, wondering, "Did YOU write that?" As I was leaving my office on Monday, I was crossing the parking lot toward my car, and someone started an engine nearby. I jumped with fear, wondering if someone was going to try to run me down. I know such fears are probably irrational, but anyone who would write such a thing on a faculty member's office door is not my definition of sane. Maybe I SHOULD be worried. I did tell Officer Wing (during the police report phase) that I was not concerned that any student who actually knew me would have written such a comment, but do I really know that? I have made an effort to be more aware of my surroundings at all times. Will that be enough?

We cannot decide why the comment was written on my book-seller sign. I guess it could have been written by a book seller, but surely not? It seems so juvenile.

I am bothered by a couple of other things. First, colleagues saw the sign and knew it was there for days, without anyone saying anything to me. Second, my disliked conservative colleague, who had spent months ignoring me, suddenly was stopping by my office, all smiles and joviality: "Sharon, how are YOU today? How are you feeling?" So I feel that he saw it and delighted in it.

Officer Wing suggested that to avoid further "sign abuse" I should not post anything on my door. I knew that would be said to me by someone, so I was prepared for it. I told him that would be censorship of my first-amendment rights, and if my door was going to be censored, then Conservative Colleague's door (with all his Sarah-Palin-is-wonderful posters) should also be censored. My Religious Colleague (with all her fish symbols and Bible quotes) should also be censored. He smiled and agreed that it wasn't logical or legal to censor me and not censor others.

My department chair and I agreed that while my door reflects opinions, nothing is vile, vulgar, or deeply offensive. All I can imagine is that some people are so offended by any mention of doubt that they have to strike out in anger. Just, come to think of it, the way certain former friends have done.