Gay Student at UMass-Amherst Harrassed by 'UTOPIA' Group

A gay Black student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst has been forced to conceal his identity for the past two weeks because of death threats he received after speaking at an on-campus rally.

UMass police have issued the student a new identification card with a pseudonym and have moved him out of his dormitory.

The student, who asked to be identified only as "Michael", said yesterday that he found the first of three death threats posted on his door soon after the October 8 rally, at which he described himself as "gay and proud of it." The threat said only "Fag Dies."

The note was signed by "UTOPIA", an anonymous group that has been leafleting the campus in recent weeks with posters threatening gays, Blacks and other minorities.

Robert N. Brooks, associate dean of students at UMass, yesterday described UTOPIA as an anti-gay "white supremacist military superiority group."

Michael said he received a second threat the next day, also signed by UTOPIA, which said he had "one week to live." The next appeared near his new room in a different dormitory, and it began "We know you've moved..." Michael has since been moved into another dormitory.

Michael said yesterday he is "paranoid" and added, "I'd jump if someone touched me. It scares the people I'm with. It's the worst thing I've ever been through," he added.

Gerald T. O'Neil, director of the UMass Police Department, said yesterday his men are taking all precautions to make sure the student is safe. "We're taking these threats very seriously."