Posted on Friday, Aug. 31, 2007 at 6 p.m.:

For what may have been a crime motivated by anti-gay bias, a University of Michigan student and another man were arraigned in Washtenaw County court on Friday.
The suspects allegedly shouted homophobic slurs and threw a dresser drawer from an apartment balcony at two men walking below.
Cody Williamson, 22, and Michael A. Brown, a 21-year-old University of Michigan student in the College of Engineering, were each charged with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of assault and battery.
A 24-year old Ann Arbor resident, whose name police have not released, told police that he and a friend were walking on the 700 block of East Ann Street early Thursday morning when several people began shouting anti-gay slurs from a second-floor balcony. According to court records, Williamson and Brown live in an apartment at 711 East Ann Street.
The man told police a piece of wooden furniture had smashed onto the pavement a few feet behind him.
Police found broken pieces of a drawer on the sidewalk, said Sgt. Brad Hill of the Ann Arbor Police Department. Inside the apartment, officers arrested Brown and Williamson.
Bond for Brown and Williamson was set at $25,000. They have both been released from custody.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 12 at 1 p.m.
On Friday afternoon, Jackie Simpson, director of the University's Office of Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Affairs, sent an e-mail to students on LGBT mailing lists about the incident.
"Such events have a chilling and frightening impact on the LGBT and Ally Communities," Simpson wrote in the e-mail, which was co-signed by University Dean of Students Sue Eklund and her senior assistant, Sharon Vaughters. "We want to reassure the community that this situation has our full attention."
Simpson said in an interview that it is not common for people in Ann Arbor to be physically threatened because of their sexual orientation.
"I don't think this particular incident is an indicator of the climate of Ann Arbor or the University," she said.
Williamson and Brown could not immediately be reached on Friday.
Ann Arbor police said Williamson is also a University of Michigan student, but he is not listed in the University's directory. He is, however, listed in Eastern Michigan University's online student directory.

Message from University officials to mailing lists maintained by the Office of Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Affairs in response to incident:
Dear Campus Community,

As reported in the Ann Arbor News, two recent graduates of the University
of Michigan were walking down the 700 block of East Ann Street when two
current U of M students shouted derogatory remarks about their sexual
orientation from a second floor apartment and subsequently threw a wooden
dresser at them from their apartment balcony. Subsequently, Ann Arbor
Police arrested the two accused students on felonious assault and
intimidation. This incident is still under investigation and more details
may be available next week.

At yesterday's Convocation, Vice President of Student Affairs E. Royster
Harper spoke about the Expect Respect Campaign
http://www.urespect.umich.edu/ . We want to express our deep concern and
sadness about this unprovoked attack on members of the university
community. Such events have a chilling and frightening impact on the LGBT
and Ally Communities. It is important for all of us to reaffirm that this
kind of behavior is unacceptable at the University of Michigan and does
not uphold the values of Expect Respect. In addition, we want to reassure
the community that this situation has our full attention.

Welcome Week is a time for the whole University to welcome our new
community members and a reminder that we work together to build the kind
of community where everyone can live, work and learn in a safe
environment. We hope you will join us at any number of the Welcome
Activities sponsored by the Office of LGBT Affairs and Expect Respect
Activities planned. All are welcome.

If you have additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact
Sue Eklund, Associate Vice President of Student Affairs,
smeklund@umich.edu ,764-7420 Sharon Vaughters, Senior Assistant to the
Dean of Students sdvaught@umich.edu, 764-7420 or Jackie Simpson,
jdsimps@umich.edu Director of the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual
Transgender Affairs, 763-4186.

In solidarity,

Sue Eklund
Associate Vice President, Dean of Students Division of Student Affairs

Jackie Simpson
Director, Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Affairs Dean of Students,
Division of Student Affairs

Sharon Vaughters
Senior Assistant to the Dean of Students
Expect Respect