I would like to voice my concerns regarding the following statement made by our Vice President for Student Affairs, Dr. Thomas Hill, in the September 26 issue of the Daily about his Olympic bronze medal: “Hill said he still has the hat, but he doesn’t have his Olympic medal. `I gave it to a friend of mine,’ Hill said. `She still had better have it or I might just have to kill her.'” As a member of the Committee Against Violence, I would like to point out how sad it is that such blatant threats of violence have become so acceptable as jokes in our language. The effects of such jokes about violence only enhance the normalization of violence against women, perpetuating the shame that victims often feel. In honor of Women’s Week (October 8-14) and Week Without Violence (October 15-21), we hope that Dr. Thomas Hill will reconsider his verbiage and illustrate the sensitivity we should expect a top administrator to embody. His terminology is unacceptable, and perhaps the eradication of violence from our language will curb violence in our society. Sara Junck

Senior

Family Services

Women’s Week Coordinator,

Margaret Sloss Women’s Center