Gay Hate Crime on MSUM Campus

Paul Marquardt, a senior at Minnesota State University Moorhead, says he was assaulted by four men last Thursday evening in a homophobic attack that left him severely injured and out cold.

Local college students are speaking out about an assault on a Minnesota State University Moorhead senior last week that police are investigating as a hate crime.

Paul Marquardt, 23, of Edina, Minn., said he was attacked Thursday night by four men slinging homophobic slurs at him as he walked to his car. The men shoved him down and he was knocked out, waking up a few minutes later, face down in the dirt.

In response to the attack on Marquardt, a local gay rights group has organized a march Thursday on MSUM�s campus to raise awareness and stop hate crimes.

Moorhead Deputy Police Chief Bob Larson said such attacks are unusual and police have no suspects and little to work from in the ongoing investigation.

The story says there’s a lot of support for the student, which is great to see. The story reminds me of the incident that occurred in Bismarck a few weeks ago where young Native Americans were harassed by unidentified people from a car in Hillside Park (there was no violence in that case, fortunately).

But it’s troubling these kinds of incidents are on the rise in our communities.

I went to school at Concordia, about two blocks from Minnesota State University - Moorhead, and took several classes there through the tri-college program. The area surrounding the schools are full of homes and small businesses. The attack happened on campus, so it was most likely other MSUM students who committed the crime. Here’s hoping they get caught, expelled, and jailed.
(Source)
Photo from Towleroad