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Nature was not the only force behind the erasing of Queer Alliance’s (QA) chalkings. Members of both Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) and Beta Theta Pi (Beta) removed chalkings that were written in front of their respective fraternity houses.

Queer Alliance held its annual fall chalkings, which affirms homosexuality, on Wednesday, Oct. 4. According to Phil Gentry ’02, the head of QA, the phrases written on the cement range from being pro-homosexuality to an outlet in which anger may be vented.

Eli Kagan ’03, a Beta brother, said he wiped away a chalking in front of Beta which said "Queer Fraternity" and then had an arrow pointing to the house. Kagan said he eliminated the chalking around 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 5 because he viewed it as vandalism.

"I did it because if anybody had written anything on our property I would have cleaned it," Kagan said. "I don’t harbor any ill will towards the Queer Alliance."

"It’s pretty upsetting to have anything you’ve written or expressed erased," Gentry said.

A student, who wishes to remain anonymous, reported witnessing two males removing chalkings with brooms in front of DKE around 2 a.m. on Oct 5. The student described the males as white, well-built and college-aged. The source said they were wearing t-shirts and jeans and one was wearing a hat.

The student claimed the males were chanting "Our bodies are big, our minds are small; we came to college to play football" as they were erasing the messages. 

The source said it appeared that the males were selectively removing certain messages and leaving other ones. The student said the males finished and then went into the DKE house.

"[The manner] was it was in front of their house and they didn’t want it there. They wanted to get rid of it," the source said. "I’m not in a position to say what their intentions were. It didn’t seem like they were being malicious. It seemed like they were just annoyed."

The source said it could not tell what the messages in front of DKE said.

Britton Boyd ’02, DKE’s house manager, said he did not know who erased the chalkings in front of the fraternity. Boyd said he did not see any chalkings in front of DKE when he left the house Thursday morning. 

Boyd said if the males returned to the house then they must have been affiliated with the fraternity.

"If the chalkings were on the sidewalk, it’s our right to erase them," Boyd said. "It’s our property. We have the right to choose or censor what’s on our property."

Boyd also said he had been told that there was a chalking in front of Mocon which he paraphrased as saying "I fucked a DKE brother up the ass with my big cock."

Gentry said he did not know who had been chalking in the DKE area and he did not know what messages were written in that area.

"We just hand out the chalk and anyone who wants to do it writes what they want," Gentry said.

"Assuming all of this [the removal of chalkings], it’s no secret that there’s been animosity between DKE and QA, especially over the past couple of years," Gentry added. "If this is true then it’s too bad. We wish they would have met or talked to us... The point is in creating dialogue–not erasing it."

Gentry said he was approached by some people on Thursday who told him they felt some of the chalkings were offensive. 

According to Director of Public Safety Maryann Wiggin, Beta and DKE are privately-owned, off-campus houses. She said QA is not technically allowed to do chalkings in privately owned areas. 

"If someone came to report that their property was vandalized then we would look into it," Wiggin said.

Wiggin added that chalkings on private property are not necessarily considered vandalism.

According to Sergeant Jeff Artikes, a Middletown police officer, the sidewalks are owned by Middletown. However, he said they must be maintained by the property owner. Artikes said the property owner could wash off the chalk.

This is not the first time QA chalkings have been removed by students. Chalkings were removed in front of Olin Library by three students on Oct. 12, 1998. The students removed the chalkings because they said they were offended by them. 

The University policy allows for chalking on any horizontal surface and forbids chalking on porches, patios or pillars. The Administration decides if the content of a certain message requires its removal.

The removal of those chalkings angered QA and other community members. After a meeting was held, the students who removed the chalkings apologized for doing it.

Kagan said he did not remove the chalking in front of Beta because of the message. He said he supported the QA’s mission in its chalkings all over campus. 

"That stuff is great. People voicing their opinions is a highly effective way of getting your voice across," Kagan said. "What they’re doing is excellent."

Kagan said the QA erred in infringing upon Beta’s private property. Boyd agreed that the impetus for the removal of the chalkings was that they were not on University-owned property.

"Essentially what happened was an act of vandalism and residents erased it," Kagan said, regarding the removal of chalkings by both himself and DKE brothers.

"Ideally, I wish these people had talked to us," Gentry said.