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Hundreds of protestors filled the school's student center late Monday, claiming that "the university is showing an endorsement of restricting the rights of LGBTQIA+ people."
Hundreds of protestors gathered at Georgia Southern University on Monday after the school suspended several LGBTQ+ initiatives.
The demonstrators filled the rotunda outside of the Russell Union student center late Monday, brandishing signs of acceptance such as "You are loved" and "Not just accessibility but visibility," according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The crowds were comprised mostly of students, though some administrators and campus police officers joined in solidarity.
The protest aimed to send a message to university administration after they suspended several LGBTQ+ initiatives, removing "information about services, including therapy groups for LGBTQIA+ students, trainings to educate faculty/staff about LGBTQIA+ identities (i.e., Safe Space/Zone), medical treatments for transgender students, career resources, LGBTQIA+ symbolism, and diversity statements from the university website."
"Between April 10 and 12, 2024, the vast majority of signage, resources, and programs offered by Georgia Southern University used to affirm and support LGBTQIA+ individuals on campus were rapidly removed from physical and digital campus resources," a letter from students, faculty, staff, and community members reads.
The group also claimed that "pride flags were promptly removed from the shelves of the university bookstore, and adjustments were made to programming for upcoming events for LGBTQIA+ students." This included students being given notice that "drag events would no longer be permitted on campus."
Georgia Southern administrator Dominique A. Quarles told the Journal-Constitution that the faculty training program, Safe Space, was suspended due to state policies prohibiting programs with diversity statements, and that the university is exploring ways to offer the non-mandatory training while remaining in compliance with the rules. Quarles added that a notice on gender-affirming care was removed only because it contained inaccurate information about the university's services.
The protestors argued in their letter that "the watering down of these efforts transforms them into versions that do not truly encompass what the mission was to begin with, and therefore, the effort eventually fails."
"The university is showing an endorsement of restricting the rights of LGBTQIA+ people, allowing people who are anti-LGBTQIA+ to have a platform to launch their discrimination," the group of students and community members wrote.
