Two gay university students were called f*****s, kicked out of a party and then threatened with death
Benjamin Buckley and Luke Chapman (L-R) were thrown out of a party for being gay. (WMC5)
Two gay students at the University of Memphis were called “faggots” by a group who threatened to “beat the life” out of them at a party.
Benjamin Buckley and Luke Chapman said that they were “just wanting to have a fun night out” when they decided to attend a party at an off-campus house.
After arriving with friends, they said they were approached by a group of fraternity members
“He said we we’re being kicked out because we’re gay,” Chapman, originally from the UK, told WMC5 Action News.
“He just went, ‘Go back to Great Britain, faggot.’
“I wasn’t sure if I should believe him, like is this some sort of joke?”
He looked at me and said, ‘I’m going to beat the f*** out of you.
Buckley added: “He was screaming at us and called us faggots and all these things.
“And he looked at me and said, ‘I’m going to beat the f*** out of you. I’m going to beat the life out of you.'”
The confrontation ended when the bullies surrounded Buckley and Chapman and pushed them towards the door, casting them out into the street.
That night, Chapman shared his account of the incident on Facebook. University of Memphis officials saw the post and are now investigating the incident.
Both men say they want the students responsible to be published for their actions, but also hope to start a wider conversation about homophobia.
“I want the focus to be on, ‘Look what they did and see how it’s bad and see how it actually reflects a lot of what’s happening in society today, so we can understand that and grow from that,’” said Buckley.
The school’s president Dr David Rudd said in a statement: “An off-campus incident involving possible bigotry has been brought to my attention and has been referred for investigation. The Office of the Dean of Students is in the process of reaching out to students and others potentially involved.”
