Professor Sent Antigay E-mail to Student

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire plans to take administrative action against a professor who sent an antigay e-mail imploring a student not to host a campus gay and lesbian film festival.

According to the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, Tom Hilton, the chairman of the university's information systems department, sent the e-mail to senior Crystal Kazik in late September urging her to reconsider the Eau Queer Film Festival, which she helped organize.

"I decry attempts to legitimize [homosexuals'] addictions and compulsions. These, our fellow humans, deserve our best efforts to help them recover their lives. We only hurt them further when we choose to pretend that these walking wounded are OK the way they are, that their present injuries are the best they can hope for in life," he said in the e-mail, which he also sent to a women's studies department staff member.

The paper reported that Hilton sent his message in response to an e-mail Kazik sent to faculty members asking them to support the festival.

Hilton said he was sorry for the e-mail and acknowledged it had been worded "very badly."

UW-Eau Claire chancellor Brian Levin-Stankevich denounced the e-mail and said that administrative action would be taken against Hilton, but the action would not be made public.