The Stonewall Society of MSU, the representative student body for LGBT students within James Madison College, hosted an emergency meeting on April 15 to discuss issues of transphobia within the college.
The meeting came in response to a column posted in The State News regarding an altercation between a professor and a transgender student named Elliot two years ago. Elliott, the author of the column, said the professor repeatedly insisted on referring to the student by his legal name in defiance of the student’s wishes and also made inappropriate references to his body parts.
Besides the incident itself, the meeting was also called to discuss what they saw as a lackluster response from administration, both at the time of the incident and in light of Dean Sherman Garnett’s statement on inclusivity after the editorial ran.
“From what the statement he issued said, and based on what Elliott has said happened at meetings (with faculty), it was all pretty much just protecting this professor and saying like, ‘Of course we’re inclusive, of course we want people to feel safe,’ but it never acknowledged that a wrong was done,” Olivia Brenner, ASMSU representative for the Alliance of Queer and Ally Students and vice president of the Stonewall Society, said.
Regardless, The Stonewall Society created its own response in the form of a resolution, addressing Garnett’s statement as well as reaffirming their belief in the right of students to choose their names and preferred pronouns.
Included within the resolution were recommendations to improve reporting of cases like these, a greater emphasis on inclusion training for academic staff and faculty and calls for an apology from the offending professor.
In accordance with Elliott’s wishes to not name the professor in question, the group kept this consideration in mind and did not yet decide whether the apology should be made publicly or privately. The resolution passed with 14 in favor and three abstentions with no opposition.
Ben Schroff, the president of the Stonewall Society, indicated that the organization intends to send this resolution to ASMSU, the provost, Residence Halls Association, the James Madison College Student Senate, the Inclusion Committee and the LGBTQA Campus Planning Coalition, an organization composed of caucus and non-caucus student groups.
Schroff also held a meeting with the dean later in the afternoon that day. He intended to bring with him a copy of the resolution and “speak for what has been approved by Stonewall.”
“I’m moving off of what we have all decided as a group, what to ask for and to work towards,” he said.
Outside members of The Stonewall Society, other James Madison students were in attendance as well. A handful of professors in the college stopped by to show support and offer possible suggestions for faculty to be more effective at addressing inclusion efforts.
Ben Lyth, an international relations senior who also identifies as queer, felt the meeting went well overall but acknowledged that more can be done by the college to strengthen inclusion for all.
“There’s definitely a lot of ignorance in James Madison around, I’ve been exposed to it in class,” Lyth said. “The vast majority of students in James Madison that I know and who I’ve met with are supportive of issues like these... It’s really a shame that there’s still a lot of work to be done. This recent incident demonstrates that clearly.”
Not all students present were necessarily on the LGBT spectrum. Kade Katrak, an economics and political theory and constitutional democracy senior, or PTCD, sat in on the meeting due to concerns he has for how his major and the college might be perceived in light of this incident.
“Freshmen this year, deciding their majors right now, should they pick PTCD?” Katrak said. “I would have been more hesitant if I’d known (about the incident) to register for PTCD. Should freshman next year choose Madison? I think that they should, I think we do focus on identity quite a bit and I think we should focus on it a ton more. That should be our role.”
