The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
LGBTQ students, supporters protest at Georgia Southern
Peaceful demonstration highlights complaints about school’s policies.
To the familiar rallying cry of “Whose house? Our house!” Georgia Southern University LGBTQ students and allies staged a protest Monday at the Russell Union student center.
Several hundred demonstrators gathered in the building’s rotunda to object to a recent series of moves made by the university’s leaders that participants say “erases” the LGBTQ community. The protest was peaceful, with organizers holding handmade signs bearing messages such as “Not just accessibility but visibility” and “You are loved.”
A handful of university administrators and campus police officers attended the approximately 90-minute protest as well.
Ellen Murphy, a grad student, organized the demonstration along with a handful of others, including members of Georgia Southern’s LGBTQ student organization, the Gay-Straight Alliance. Murphy was pleased that the protesters were “visible and unified,” and the leader garnered loud support while outlining the group’s grievances.
Complaints ranged from the suspension of an inclusion training program, Safe Space, to the relocation of health care resource listings from a public website to a password-protected internal network to Georgia Southern President Kyle Marrero ordering the removal of a poster from the school’s counseling center promoting gender-affirming care.
The Safe Space training was paused because a compliance review of University System of Georgia human resources administrative practices found the program violated recent policy revisions, Georgia Southern administrator Dominique A. Quarles said. Georgia’s public colleges and universities are prohibited from offering programs that make diversity statements, reflecting pushes from socially conservative state lawmakers who have expressed concerns about diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in taxpayer-funded educational institutions.
The university is exploring alternative approaches to restore Safe Space or to offer similar training that doesn’t violate University System policy, Quarles said. The timeline for the reboot is the fall semester, which begins Aug. 14.
Quarles, Georgia Southern’s associate vice president for organizational effectiveness, leadership development and inclusive excellence, said fears that the university is attempting to limit student health resources on campus are unfounded. Georgia Southern offers the same mental and health resources now as it did earlier this academic year. The gender-affirming care flyer was taken down in the counseling center because it was an inaccurate representation of services that continue to be offered.
The administration’s explanations for the Safe Space training suspension and other changes noted by the protest organizers did not satisfy many of the demonstrators. They voiced their suspicions that the wave of actions, which they say also includes removal of gay pride merchandise from the university store, is a coordinated effort to strip LGBTQ students of their identity.
“This is like a soft rollout, the first step, and I almost expect Dr. Marrero to double down,” said Banner Cook, a doctoral student from Dallas. “This protest was the first step in our pushback. We put this together in two weeks. Just think about what we can do with the summer to plan.”
The Georgia Southern protest differed from the pro-Palestinian demonstrations happening at campuses across the country, including at Emory University in Atlanta. Some of those gatherings have been marked by violence and arrests.
Organizers of the Georgia Southern protest took steps during the planning process to ensure participants would “act in alignment with our values,” Murphy said. No students used the LGBTQ protests to promote other causes. The only flags displayed Monday were pride flags.