By KAREN HEINSELMAN, Courier Staff Writer
wcfcourier.com. (http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2008/02/15/news/breaking_news/doc47b49b91bf6bf756240781.txt)
"Yordi, who said he sometimes yells at passerbys for amusement, also said he didn't immediately recognize the passerby, Wartburg junior Joe Apel of East Dubuque, Ill. Apel identifies himself as an openly gay man.
"Didn't mean anything by it," Yordi said. "Never have. Just getting a good laugh out of it.""
""I felt completely anguished, like I had just been punched in the face," Apel said. " ... And I still feel very anguished today."
Dashner asked the court to see the bigger picture. She argued that the circumstances and events leading up to the incident created a serious situation.
" ... Joe Apel was walking alone on campus," Dashner said. "It was dark out."
Dashner also drew attention to the fact that the incident happened at time when campus activities were devoted to drawing attention to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues. She also noted that Apel, who at the time was in a diversity class with Yordi, had mentioned his sexual orientation in an online posting, part of a class assignment."
{Also, pay attention to the comments section. As of this writing, they're all of the just-a-joke-get-over-it blame-the-victim variety =K}