First Posted: 9/23/2014

Penn State Wilkes-Barre’s Campus Environment Team will present Erin Davies & The Fagbug – Activism on Wheels to the Penn State Wilkes-Barre Campus on Thursday, Oct. 9.

Erin’s Fagbug will be on display outside of the Penn State Wilkes-Barre Student Commons from 10 a.m. to noon. Erin will be giving a lecture on hate crimes and their impact in today’s world at noon. Following the lecture, she will be hosting an open discussion.

In 2007, on the 11th Annual National Day of Silence, Erin Davies was victim to a hate crime in Albany, New York. Because of sporting a rainbow sticker on her VW Beetle, Erin’s car was vandalized, left with the words “fag” and “u r gay” placed on the driver’s side window and hood of her car. Despite initial shock and embarrassment, Erin decided to embrace what happened by leaving the graffiti on her car. She took her car, now known worldwide as the “fagbug,” on a 58-day trip around the U.S. and Canada. Along the way, Erin discovered other, more serious hate crimes, had people attempt to remove the graffiti, and experimented with having a male drive her car.

“We are thrilled to have Erin present on our campus just prior to National Coming Out Day,” Student Activities Coordinator, Jackie Warnick-Piatt said. “Erin’s ability to turn this negative experience into a positive one is truly inspiring.”