Attack targets gay UNC student
BY ERIC FERRERI : The Herald-Sun


CHAPEL HILL -- An attack on a gay UNC student late last week is having a ripple effect in the university's gay and lesbian community, which is struggling to come to terms with what local police are deeming a hate crime.

"It came as an absolute, total surprise," said David Ruskey, a UNC senior and member of the executive board of the university's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Straight Alliance, a student group. "It's something I never would have foreseen happening in this area. From what I've seen of Chapel Hill, it's a fairly welcoming, open area. An incident happening like this is just mind-blowing."