Vandalism At Harvard Library Thought To Be Act Of Anti-Gay Hate Now Ruled An Accident

The Harvard Crimson reports that after conducting an investigation into a recent report that 36 books dealing with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues had been damaged with what appeared to be urine at the university’s Lamont Library in late November, the school determined Monday that the incident was an accident and will no longer investigated as a hate crime, according to a statement sent to the Harvard community from College Dean Evelynn M. Hammonds. On November 24th, library staff discovered the damages book along with a bottle that investigators concluded contained to urine. Friday, December 10th, it was reported the College and Harvard University Police Department as vandalism. It was initially investigated as a hate crime for the “focused nature and related topics” of the books by the HUPD, according to Dean Hammond. However, upon investigation, it was revealed Monday morning that “our own library personnel” had accidently spilled a bottle containing urine that had been found on a shelf. All 36 books will be replaced as soon as possible, said Hammond. "I believe this is an important new fact in the investigation and warrants my sharing it with you immediately. While we should not minimize the seriousness of this incident, HUPD is no longer classifying this incident as a hate crime," Hammonds wrote in her statement. "This nuance in the facts in the case also explains why library personnel did not immediately report the incident and treated it instead as a prank." Harvard College Queer Students and Allies Co-Chair Marc Chan said he was relieved that the damage was the result of an accident and not a targeted act of anti-gay hate, but expressed concern and confusion by facts that remain unexplained. "On the one hand, I feel relieved by the news—but on the other hand, I’m still holding breath on questions that are still unresolved," Chan said. "Why was there a bottle of urine on the shelf? Why did it take two weeks for library or HUPD to figure out that this was just an accident? Did someone suddenly come forward?"