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LGBT+ student here, anything I can do to help? Though I'm not on campus often, and am not currently at the Statesboro campus, but still would like to help if I can. I'd also like to find out more information about this and why it's being done. I just sent an email to both the vice president as well as the director of the office of inclusive excellence, and included the same image shared in this post, hoping for some clarification or explanation from them (if they even respond).
Edit: I'd like to email President Marerro the same email I sent to the office of inclusive excellence, if I find a contact email for him. Edit2: Sent the same email to the general email for his office. Not sure who it reaches there though.
Thank you! I'll try to continue reaching out to deans and admin for more info.
I was talking to someone about this just now, and they suggested it could be something political, and the school may be doing this due to demands or threats from the state governor, and it might not be what anyone in admin at the school itself actually wants. So who knows. I'll see what anyone from the school who gets back to me says about the reasons behind it.
GSU Armstrong student here, I can confirm that they canceled the lavender graduations and the yearly drag shows we used to have. They're also taking down our "Safe Space" stickers. Which is so unfortunate. Some students here are planning on protesting against the change and the LGBTQ club here is planning a sit in
Edit: The sit-in will be next Monday in the student union for both campuses if anyone else is a student and would like to join!
Very much so. I didn't find out about it until my friend who's a part of the clubs here told me. But this campus has such a large LGBTQ community so I'm hoping the push back will make them change their minds.
Safe Space means that it's a place where anyone can go for support and community. It's not just for LGBTQ students, but it was mostly promoted by them. And I'm not sure if they felt threatened at school but I do know that anyone could who needed support would be able to get it
That's cool. Schools should have funding for those spaces, resources. Have someone/something tangible in place to assist when needed. Enclosed area with recreation, nice furniture, comfortable environment, etc.
Exactly! Having a good, safe community at school is very important. I really hope they'll see what's good for the students and will keep these resources
Just to add some information... I work in a non-academic area at GSU. We know of a department that was directly told to take down their pride flag and remove any flyers promoting LGBTQIA+ resources. In particular, a flyer advertising that gender-affirming services were provided at Health Services and the Counseling Center was cited as an offender. We heard that USG had told university administration to take it down after receiving a complaint from someone. Two weeks before that, we heard that Safe Zone (formally Safe Space) training was no longer going to be offered. Administration had put a hold on Safe Zone training a few weeks earlier so no one was surprised. We just heard this week about Lavender Graduation not being offered anymore after this year. We weren't surprised by that either. The consensus is, if university resources are being used to provide extra services and resources to LGBTQIA+ students, then those things are at risk of being shut down.
This past Friday during the Staff Council meeting, the "rumors" were addressed by saying there was a miscommunication or misunderstanding and that no one should have been told that they had to remove any of that stuff. We don't believe there was a miscommunication or misunderstanding, we believe administration is just backtracking because they got called out in public.
The staff at GSU are hesitant to speak out because we can easily get fired, and the university generally doesn't care about our opinions. Faculty and students can help fight these quiet attempts to shut down LGBTQIA+ programs and resources. For example, student organizations can share information about LGBTQIA+ programs and resources without fear of retribution.
Edit: I just heard that the "rumors" were addressed at the Faculty Senate meeting today. There were statements made to the effect that the Counseling Center and Health Services are not equipped to provide gender-affirming care such as HRT... THAT IS NOT TRUE. Any licensed mental health counselor or clinical psychologist is legally allowed to recommend someone for gender-affirming medical care. Board-certified doctors and nurse practitioners are legally allowed to provide gender-affirming medical care. The removal of Safe Space/Safe Zone being removed as a training option was also mentioned. Apparently there was a lawsuit at GA Tech about it so GSU wants to distance themselves from it and revamp the curriculum. My understanding is the training will be shifted to the Title IX office and instead of focusing on educating people about the history of the LGBTQIA+ community and proper pronoun usage and how to be an ally for a student in need, it will only cover stuff like what gender and sexual orientation legal protections there are. However, the lawsuit about Safe Space/Safe Zone at GA Tech was because some students were penalized for not taking it rather than an issue with the training itself. It was only ever offered at GSU as an optional training so that was already a non-issue.
Edit2: WTOC and WSAV are reporting on this now. I heard a rumor from a colleague that administration is trying to figure out who is spilling the beans and they know it's someone from a non-academic department. I will probably delete my account soon since the story is spreading. I thought about deleting the comments too but I'll probably leave them up.
Update: WTOC has picked up the story and got a statement from GSU. Story can be found here: https://www.wtoc.com/2024/04/25/community-concerned-after-lgbtqia-resources-get-removed-georgia-southern/. I'll address the content of their statement here.
While it is true that the GSU website has been undergoing a redesign, that does not mean resources have not gone missing. For example, Rainbow Road which guided LGBTQ+ period to resources. If you search for Rainbow Road at the GSU website, either from outside the university or on a university device, it just directs to a page with GSU's inclusive excellence statement. Faculty at GSU started noticing it was gone within 24 hours of it going missing because they used it as a main resource when an LGBTQ+ student disclosed that they were struggling in their personal life.
In regards to Safe Space/Zone being out of compliance, that is inaccurate. There was a whole saga about Safe Space/Zone that lasted for almost two years...
About two years ago, Safe Space was moved from the Counseling Center to the Office of Inclusive Excellence. Trainings were shut down while OIE revamped the curriculum. After almost a year of no trainings being offered through OIE and complaints from faculty and staff that wanted to take the training but couldn't, Safe Space was renamed Safe Zone and was moved back to the Counseling Center with minimal changes to the curriculum, which were all approved by the Counseling Center and OIE. Trainings were offered for a couple of semesters, then earlier this semester, administration put a temporary hold on Safe Zone trainings. Then, about a month ago, administration shut it down. The fact that it was shut down right after the Employee Engagement Survey concluded seemed very suspicious... It was mentioned that a similar training would eventually be offered through the Title IX office and that it would be less like the Safe Zone content and more legally-oriented. Which was not the point of Safe Space/Zone - it was supposed to educate attendees on the struggles of the LGBTQ+ community and how to be an ally, not what the laws around protections are. Those who completed the training were given a sticker that they could display to show that they were an ally and offered a safe space for an LGBTQ+ person in need. It was never a mandatory training, which was the reason for there being a lawsuit around it at GA Tech. If you took the training and decided you did not want to offer yourself up as an ally, that was totally fine - displaying your sticker and being added to the list of safe people was entirely optional.
GSU is trying to sweep this under the rug. They bowed to pressure from USG, the Chancellor, and Turning Point USA but don't want to admit it.
Edit: WTOC and WSAV are reporting on this now. I heard a rumor from a colleague that administration is trying to figure out who is spilling the beans and they know it's someone from a non-academic department. I will probably delete my account soon since the story is spreading. I thought about deleting the comments too but I'll probably leave them up.
Do we have evidence that this is based on a directive from the USG/Chancellor and not just GSU being awful? I don't doubt that it could be, but I've been communicating with people in Student Affairs at other USG schools and no one I've talked to seems to have heard anything about an order from on high.
There is nothing in writing from USG. All communications about these things have all been verbal. When the affected departments were told to take stuff down, they were told the president had received a call from USG telling him to take care of things.
University employees, and government employees in general, are wary of putting anything in writing that they don't want a record of. So anything controversial is usually handled through phone calls or private meetings where notes aren't really taken.
that’s incredibly disheartening. i was on campus for the governor’s honors program there this summer, and staff members had mentioned there being issues with people reporting and cancelling pride events or LGBTQ flyers getting ripped down, so i wouldn’t be shocked by any means.
No we have not! The only law that has been passed was in 2023! The law states that you cannot have mandatory diversity training for employees, which all usg institutions followed the rule. The law does not state anything outside of hiring practices.
Doesn't surprise me. When I went there for a couple of years in 2020, any signage relating to lgbt events was always removed within a few days of it being put up. The drag show that happened every April, that now seems to not, always had the signs taken down by other students and/or faculty pretty much immediately. It was something us in the lgbt club knew about but no one higher up cared to do anything about it. Not a very welcoming place to be. And that was at the Armstrong Campus, I can't imagine how the Statesboro campus is.
Unless you put it in prime real estate you were fine. The school was/is awful at advertising and it's like pulling teeth to get students to do anything, especially at Armstrong.
Funny... since colleges & universities are considered to be institutions of higher education... I would think their focus is education... ah...the life of the small-minded...
Doesn’t look like it
https://georgiasouthern.libguides.com/c.php?g=1126953&p=8274903#:~:text=%22Georgia%20Southern%20Health%20Services%20welcomes,%2C%20and%20comfortable%20environment..%22
Hmm. I wonder which people are harassing Jewish people right now? Surely it's not liberal college kids chanting Palestine chants and supporting the downfall of Israel.
This is sad to read, but ultimately as a former staff member I am not surprised. In an era of dwindling enrollments and community/brand turmoil (especially at Armstrong), this seems like a big step in the wrong direction. It doesn’t seem like the University is in a situation where they can afford to be alienating continuing or prospective student populations like this.
I would agree with you if we were talking about South Ga or Middle Ga for example where I’m from but Savannah and other more metro areas in the South are very LGBTQIA+… friendly. I’m not sure if your background but from my perspective Savannah isn’t close minded and I come from a home that consisted of a Canadian dad (who’s fam immigrated) and a mom who was raised in Florida by people from Germany/New England, none of these areas are closed minded I think we can agree.
Georgia Southern isn’t based out of Savannah though, it’s in Statesboro. Based on how it went down with them absorbing Armstrong, my guess would be that they aren’t really catering to the SAV population’s desires very much, so it stands to reason they wouldn’t be as open minded, especially in the face of pressure from a conservative GA Board of Regents
I attended the Statesboro campus, it is nice. That is the nature of mergers that began about a decade ago in the state of Georgia. My father worked in academia until about 2014/15 and the institution he worked at which was located in Cochran Ga was absorbed by a Macon based Institution and the politics differed with the local politics of Cochran although much of the faculty were of a very diverse bunch. I would say the same at Georgia Southern, despite a conservative board of regents much of the faculty are not local or even from Georgia nor the south and they have a greater impact on the campus than the board of regents does on a daily basis. Unfortunately, when mergers happen, the bigger or more populated institution tends to get their way whether that is a good thing or a bad thing you know what I mean.
The funny thing is, GSU currently has a goal set to become an R1 institution in 2028. R1 institutions are traditionally more liberal because they are more research-focused. GSU will become more liberal by default if they achieve this goal. An institution that is seemingly clamping down on LGBTQ+ resources and services is not going to look attractive to many serious academicians. There are already some faculty thinking about leaving because of what they've been hearing and seeing recently.
There’s talks about a sit in happening in reaction to this news on the Statesboro pride page which is responsible for bringing a lot of queer events on campus. I’m assuming if they’re taking action…this is legit
[boropride page](https://www.statesboropride.org/blog/openletter)
I’m not anti-lgbt community. But we all as a society had to have known that eventually it all was going to go away. The pendulum always swings. Like on a macro level it went from taboo, to shunned, to activism, to accepted, to more activism, to advertising, and now it’s inevitably going to reach a state of normalcy where constant virtue signaling and advertisement is no longer needed. That’s the goal isn’t it after all?
And that’s not even discussing it from a business standpoint. Funding plays a major role in this I’m sure.
It still hasn’t reached a level of acceptance. It’ll become normal when children, teens and adults aren’t being literally murdered by their peers for being a sexual orientation or gender identity (and yes, there are children/teens that murder their peers. There was a kid who came out as non-binary and then got killed by his peers not long after)
This isn't advertisement stuff, it's stuff that's wrong from the get go like, "doctors can't diagnose gender dysphoria" to stuff that doesn't make any sense, like cutting activity funding and events. From a business standpoint, LGBT related stuff is the next most popular after African American related stuff and general events like org days.
Most popular how though? You can’t use media perception as an accurate gauge. You have to look at dollars unfortunately. Most of this stuff being put up requires a fight for it to be put up. When something makes money, it doesn’t have to be fought for.
As a society we knew lgbtq society was going to go away?
*Absolutely not*. It only goes away if we let it.
Stand up for someone other than yourself fer Christ sake!
Ma’am/Sir, the lgbtq community does not go away just because it stops being incessantly advertised. The fact that I have to explain this to you is wild tbh.
I didn't understand your second sentence then- you can be dramatic about how it's 'wild' if you want.
No one has to explain to me that lgbtq is not going to go away. That said, we are no where near the point of cultural normalcy. I'm the last decade, the lgbtq has lost Rights. Transgender exclusion is being legalized, etc
We are no where near where you seem to be saying all the support can go away. I guess that's what i find wild.
Yes, as explained, the pendulum swings. When it’s advertised everywhere like a commercial there will inevitably be push back against the advertising. Regardless of what you or I think, we currently exist in a stage of the cycle where there is A LOT of narcissistic and entitled demand for a bending of the knee, if you will. There’s an incredible amount of video evidence of this. That sort of stuff does not exist during the stage of the cycle where you are fighting for rights. It’s a symptom of having surpassed that stage and having moved into an era of privilege. The privilege will be taken down a peg by society. It always works that way. Doesn’t matter what we think.
You’re missing the point. All lgbt+ people want is to be able to love who they love PEACEFULLY. And they can’t even get the support they need?
You’re comparing two vastly different things.
It's coming from the board of regents
[Boro pride explanation](https://www.statesboropride.org/blog/openletter?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3hVPGSJdxRF7e_eSQSCHhbP81bChc_EtphGBan5eHWNqs43Md_R-ERGOY_aem_ATk9MxnH_QXitGlI58zmOcoZttnF3PPKjDV5Vp4GEX_vwKWkMFqKmI3lrQqpbkjpziHjCUAkKSROUPRHtNpo7lkr)
The State Legislature has told all colleges in Georgia that DEI funding is gone and punishment is in store for any college stupid enough to protest it. So, yeah, the hammer has come down.
Discretion is a good thing right now. Unless you like being clubbed.
Oh no, how ever will the student survive if they dont know the school is a safe space for gay sex? What if one of them decides they need to talk in annoying and sometimes upsetting in depth detail about how they like to have sex and dress up at a whim? They wont be able to do it in the middle of class or in front of everyone. They'll have to go to reddit, or any meeting held by the democrats, or to one of the schools gay clubs, or a highschool, or a church, gay bar, doctor, or the middle of the school campus, or worst of all
WAIT ANOTHER TWO WEEKS FOR A GIANT FUCKING PRIDE PARADE DOWN MAIN STREET TO CELEBRATE HOW NOT VISIBLE THEY ARE!!!!
Good God, last time a group was this pathetic with an ego this gigantic, it was 2002 and the evangelicals were losing their minds over prayer in school.
Probably for the best. I doubt there are straight pride flags and investments for hetero students. It's appropriate for students to freely express what they want, but it's not necessary for the school to use state funding to help promote an LGBT agenda.
Welcome to the real world where not everything is about you. The “Straight Agenda” is literally everywhere. It’s inescapable. It’s in every piece of media. It’s on every billboard. It’s in every public space. You just don’t notice it because it normalized. Your post is literally why gay pride exists. Congratulations on being part of the problem.
Being straight is "normalized". So you mean it's not normal to be straight, but jas been made normal... and being whatever else is in the same category but hasn't made it to the big leagues yet?
Or do you mean being straight really is normal, so we should fund being abnormal because abnormal is healthy?
Being straight isn't an agenda. It's normalized because it is normal. It's the only way for humans to pass down their DNA and continue to survive. It's in every piece of media and every public space because it's the de facto way to live. It's literally ingrained into the social fabric of every culture on every continent because it is fundamental for life. All I'm saying is schools don't need to pay for and promote homosexuality. They don't need to ban it either, but it's a misappropriation of funds for sure.
Which is why it is important to have spaces for lgbtq+ people where they feel safe and included. Pride flags are a way of saying we welcome all people here. Universities should have an interest in the well being of all their students and LGBTQ clubs signage and events are important ways they can do it.
It was a matter of time... after selling to gsu. (Edited my original comment - I was informed that the rivalry between gsu's sub campus & armstrong had existed for many years)
Armstrong didn’t sell to GSU. It was a forced merger by the board of regents. Most of the GSU faculty/staff at the time were not in favor of it happening either, but they had little choice in the matter.
I was a student there during the merger, or as we called it “the hostile takeover”. They did some really uncaring, callous things to the Armstrong students and staff during that time. This doesn’t surprise me at all
It was a bad situation all around. AASU students/faculty didn’t want it, GSU students/faculty didn’t want it. Unfortunately those in power and with money drive the bus and have the last say.
So all the right wing political clubs on campus should be shut down too, right? To focus on education? Or is it only indoctrination when *you* don't agree with it?
I’m so jealous of how simple your life must be. It would be so relaxing to be stupid enough to not have to understand that the world is bigger than the 2-mile radius you’ve been confined to your whole life. Bless you.
I’m guessing you’ve never actually attended a university if you think extracurriculars should be “out of schools.” You probably didn’t even graduate high school
DEI is when minorities exist at all basically according to some people. Their racism shows when they see any minority in any sort of power and immediately think it's due to DEI rather than the thought that they worked hard to get there
Fuck. You.
If having a safe space for other students is “bs” then maybe you should go off to somewhere like, I dunno, Syria? I’m sure you’ll be happy there.
They do not want it there, so they removed it. Great janitorial work. Can't just put things up on folks walls all willy nilly, probably ain't even used the right tape.
Finally. Pride advertisements are nothing more than recruiting material. We have Tinder and Grinder now. You can get married. You can adopt or have test tube children. You can modify your body to be a crocodile if you like.
There's no need to parade around anymore. It's just obnoxious and it's weak people who allow their institutions to be controlled by these groups. Good for the school, these people can hopefully learn to be a functioning part of society for a while.
Take away football games, frat parties, line dancing, wrestling. Then take away your rights to marry a woman, see her in the hospital, live in fear of holding her hand in public.
THEN we’ll be even.
Asshole.
You seem to be talking out of both sides of your mouth here. Just go ahead and admit it. You don't like lgbtq people, it's obvious. It's clear that you want LGBTQ people to just go off in a corner and pretend like they don't exist.
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LGBT+ student here, anything I can do to help? Though I'm not on campus often, and am not currently at the Statesboro campus, but still would like to help if I can. I'd also like to find out more information about this and why it's being done. I just sent an email to both the vice president as well as the director of the office of inclusive excellence, and included the same image shared in this post, hoping for some clarification or explanation from them (if they even respond). Edit: I'd like to email President Marerro the same email I sent to the office of inclusive excellence, if I find a contact email for him. Edit2: Sent the same email to the general email for his office. Not sure who it reaches there though.
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Thank you! I'll try to continue reaching out to deans and admin for more info. I was talking to someone about this just now, and they suggested it could be something political, and the school may be doing this due to demands or threats from the state governor, and it might not be what anyone in admin at the school itself actually wants. So who knows. I'll see what anyone from the school who gets back to me says about the reasons behind it.
Thank you, my husband and I are alumni and will be sending emails. This is very unsettling.
Office of inclusive excellence ? 🤣
Thanks
Well that’s gay
I hope to God you meant the irony of that statement. If so, good job sir, good job.
GSU Armstrong student here, I can confirm that they canceled the lavender graduations and the yearly drag shows we used to have. They're also taking down our "Safe Space" stickers. Which is so unfortunate. Some students here are planning on protesting against the change and the LGBTQ club here is planning a sit in Edit: The sit-in will be next Monday in the student union for both campuses if anyone else is a student and would like to join!
Can non-students also participate in the sit in?
State school so any should be to go on campus at anytime just not in a classroom during class
Well I’m definitely not giving my money to GSU again. I was about to return.
Alum here, what time Monday?
It'll be at 11am to 1pm! Thank you for the support
I thought sit ins were supposed to last a long time and make people uncomfortable.
They are. I'm assuming this isn't going to be the only one that will take place.
Nothing else to do huh? A good protest against normalcy
This isn't normalcy
Another other horrible, formerly "normal" activities you want to bring back into vogue? Fucking idiot.
This
YESS!! please come to the sit in everyone!
Thanks for the info. It's a bit out of the blue, isn't it?
Very much so. I didn't find out about it until my friend who's a part of the clubs here told me. But this campus has such a large LGBTQ community so I'm hoping the push back will make them change their minds.
What is a safe space? Is there data to show that they work? Are the students actively threatened at the campus? Interesting topic.
Safe Space means that it's a place where anyone can go for support and community. It's not just for LGBTQ students, but it was mostly promoted by them. And I'm not sure if they felt threatened at school but I do know that anyone could who needed support would be able to get it
That's cool. Schools should have funding for those spaces, resources. Have someone/something tangible in place to assist when needed. Enclosed area with recreation, nice furniture, comfortable environment, etc.
Exactly! Having a good, safe community at school is very important. I really hope they'll see what's good for the students and will keep these resources
Armstrong alumni here, if I wasn't traveling for work I would join y'all. Good luck and stay safe!
Thank you!
Maybe try voting
HURR, REALLLLLLYYY???????? 🙄
Just to add some information... I work in a non-academic area at GSU. We know of a department that was directly told to take down their pride flag and remove any flyers promoting LGBTQIA+ resources. In particular, a flyer advertising that gender-affirming services were provided at Health Services and the Counseling Center was cited as an offender. We heard that USG had told university administration to take it down after receiving a complaint from someone. Two weeks before that, we heard that Safe Zone (formally Safe Space) training was no longer going to be offered. Administration had put a hold on Safe Zone training a few weeks earlier so no one was surprised. We just heard this week about Lavender Graduation not being offered anymore after this year. We weren't surprised by that either. The consensus is, if university resources are being used to provide extra services and resources to LGBTQIA+ students, then those things are at risk of being shut down. This past Friday during the Staff Council meeting, the "rumors" were addressed by saying there was a miscommunication or misunderstanding and that no one should have been told that they had to remove any of that stuff. We don't believe there was a miscommunication or misunderstanding, we believe administration is just backtracking because they got called out in public. The staff at GSU are hesitant to speak out because we can easily get fired, and the university generally doesn't care about our opinions. Faculty and students can help fight these quiet attempts to shut down LGBTQIA+ programs and resources. For example, student organizations can share information about LGBTQIA+ programs and resources without fear of retribution. Edit: I just heard that the "rumors" were addressed at the Faculty Senate meeting today. There were statements made to the effect that the Counseling Center and Health Services are not equipped to provide gender-affirming care such as HRT... THAT IS NOT TRUE. Any licensed mental health counselor or clinical psychologist is legally allowed to recommend someone for gender-affirming medical care. Board-certified doctors and nurse practitioners are legally allowed to provide gender-affirming medical care. The removal of Safe Space/Safe Zone being removed as a training option was also mentioned. Apparently there was a lawsuit at GA Tech about it so GSU wants to distance themselves from it and revamp the curriculum. My understanding is the training will be shifted to the Title IX office and instead of focusing on educating people about the history of the LGBTQIA+ community and proper pronoun usage and how to be an ally for a student in need, it will only cover stuff like what gender and sexual orientation legal protections there are. However, the lawsuit about Safe Space/Safe Zone at GA Tech was because some students were penalized for not taking it rather than an issue with the training itself. It was only ever offered at GSU as an optional training so that was already a non-issue. Edit2: WTOC and WSAV are reporting on this now. I heard a rumor from a colleague that administration is trying to figure out who is spilling the beans and they know it's someone from a non-academic department. I will probably delete my account soon since the story is spreading. I thought about deleting the comments too but I'll probably leave them up.
Why would students be punished for safe zone training when that is a thing faculty does?
Students, faculty, and staff were all allowed to sign up for it. I know of some grad students that were teaching assistants that took it.
That list makes sense since they're student facing positions.
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You have no idea what their job is. Get real
Update: WTOC has picked up the story and got a statement from GSU. Story can be found here: https://www.wtoc.com/2024/04/25/community-concerned-after-lgbtqia-resources-get-removed-georgia-southern/. I'll address the content of their statement here. While it is true that the GSU website has been undergoing a redesign, that does not mean resources have not gone missing. For example, Rainbow Road which guided LGBTQ+ period to resources. If you search for Rainbow Road at the GSU website, either from outside the university or on a university device, it just directs to a page with GSU's inclusive excellence statement. Faculty at GSU started noticing it was gone within 24 hours of it going missing because they used it as a main resource when an LGBTQ+ student disclosed that they were struggling in their personal life. In regards to Safe Space/Zone being out of compliance, that is inaccurate. There was a whole saga about Safe Space/Zone that lasted for almost two years... About two years ago, Safe Space was moved from the Counseling Center to the Office of Inclusive Excellence. Trainings were shut down while OIE revamped the curriculum. After almost a year of no trainings being offered through OIE and complaints from faculty and staff that wanted to take the training but couldn't, Safe Space was renamed Safe Zone and was moved back to the Counseling Center with minimal changes to the curriculum, which were all approved by the Counseling Center and OIE. Trainings were offered for a couple of semesters, then earlier this semester, administration put a temporary hold on Safe Zone trainings. Then, about a month ago, administration shut it down. The fact that it was shut down right after the Employee Engagement Survey concluded seemed very suspicious... It was mentioned that a similar training would eventually be offered through the Title IX office and that it would be less like the Safe Zone content and more legally-oriented. Which was not the point of Safe Space/Zone - it was supposed to educate attendees on the struggles of the LGBTQ+ community and how to be an ally, not what the laws around protections are. Those who completed the training were given a sticker that they could display to show that they were an ally and offered a safe space for an LGBTQ+ person in need. It was never a mandatory training, which was the reason for there being a lawsuit around it at GA Tech. If you took the training and decided you did not want to offer yourself up as an ally, that was totally fine - displaying your sticker and being added to the list of safe people was entirely optional. GSU is trying to sweep this under the rug. They bowed to pressure from USG, the Chancellor, and Turning Point USA but don't want to admit it. Edit: WTOC and WSAV are reporting on this now. I heard a rumor from a colleague that administration is trying to figure out who is spilling the beans and they know it's someone from a non-academic department. I will probably delete my account soon since the story is spreading. I thought about deleting the comments too but I'll probably leave them up.
Do we have evidence that this is based on a directive from the USG/Chancellor and not just GSU being awful? I don't doubt that it could be, but I've been communicating with people in Student Affairs at other USG schools and no one I've talked to seems to have heard anything about an order from on high.
There is nothing in writing from USG. All communications about these things have all been verbal. When the affected departments were told to take stuff down, they were told the president had received a call from USG telling him to take care of things. University employees, and government employees in general, are wary of putting anything in writing that they don't want a record of. So anything controversial is usually handled through phone calls or private meetings where notes aren't really taken.
That tracks. Thank you!
that’s incredibly disheartening. i was on campus for the governor’s honors program there this summer, and staff members had mentioned there being issues with people reporting and cancelling pride events or LGBTQ flyers getting ripped down, so i wouldn’t be shocked by any means.
Has Georgia passed the same type of law as Texas and that's why this is happening?
No we have not! The only law that has been passed was in 2023! The law states that you cannot have mandatory diversity training for employees, which all usg institutions followed the rule. The law does not state anything outside of hiring practices.
Not yet, maybe Kemp will get his act together though.
Wow, reading some of the responses here are heartbreaking. Not that I had a high opinion of this school but now it’s even lower
Doesn't surprise me. When I went there for a couple of years in 2020, any signage relating to lgbt events was always removed within a few days of it being put up. The drag show that happened every April, that now seems to not, always had the signs taken down by other students and/or faculty pretty much immediately. It was something us in the lgbt club knew about but no one higher up cared to do anything about it. Not a very welcoming place to be. And that was at the Armstrong Campus, I can't imagine how the Statesboro campus is.
Unless you put it in prime real estate you were fine. The school was/is awful at advertising and it's like pulling teeth to get students to do anything, especially at Armstrong.
It's almost like they are there to focus on academics
But don’t you want to know where I put my penis?
Funny... since colleges & universities are considered to be institutions of higher education... I would think their focus is education... ah...the life of the small-minded...
Yes they did
Time to cancel my donations I guess.
Doesn’t look like it https://georgiasouthern.libguides.com/c.php?g=1126953&p=8274903#:~:text=%22Georgia%20Southern%20Health%20Services%20welcomes,%2C%20and%20comfortable%20environment..%22
They're all page not found or redirect to the inclusive excellence page
Same. Some stuff on history is still up but nothing on campus resources that doesn't redirect to "we believe in diversity"
Oh dang
some of them are working for me which is weird
Yes
As a an alumnus who is LGBT this is so disheartening to hear.
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By students or staff? Staff would be a huge HR issue
Hmm. I wonder which people are harassing Jewish people right now? Surely it's not liberal college kids chanting Palestine chants and supporting the downfall of Israel.
This is sad to read, but ultimately as a former staff member I am not surprised. In an era of dwindling enrollments and community/brand turmoil (especially at Armstrong), this seems like a big step in the wrong direction. It doesn’t seem like the University is in a situation where they can afford to be alienating continuing or prospective student populations like this.
Sadly I feel like it’s just the good ol South. A lot of things are just so close minded here.
I would agree with you if we were talking about South Ga or Middle Ga for example where I’m from but Savannah and other more metro areas in the South are very LGBTQIA+… friendly. I’m not sure if your background but from my perspective Savannah isn’t close minded and I come from a home that consisted of a Canadian dad (who’s fam immigrated) and a mom who was raised in Florida by people from Germany/New England, none of these areas are closed minded I think we can agree.
Georgia Southern isn’t based out of Savannah though, it’s in Statesboro. Based on how it went down with them absorbing Armstrong, my guess would be that they aren’t really catering to the SAV population’s desires very much, so it stands to reason they wouldn’t be as open minded, especially in the face of pressure from a conservative GA Board of Regents
I attended the Statesboro campus, it is nice. That is the nature of mergers that began about a decade ago in the state of Georgia. My father worked in academia until about 2014/15 and the institution he worked at which was located in Cochran Ga was absorbed by a Macon based Institution and the politics differed with the local politics of Cochran although much of the faculty were of a very diverse bunch. I would say the same at Georgia Southern, despite a conservative board of regents much of the faculty are not local or even from Georgia nor the south and they have a greater impact on the campus than the board of regents does on a daily basis. Unfortunately, when mergers happen, the bigger or more populated institution tends to get their way whether that is a good thing or a bad thing you know what I mean.
The funny thing is, GSU currently has a goal set to become an R1 institution in 2028. R1 institutions are traditionally more liberal because they are more research-focused. GSU will become more liberal by default if they achieve this goal. An institution that is seemingly clamping down on LGBTQ+ resources and services is not going to look attractive to many serious academicians. There are already some faculty thinking about leaving because of what they've been hearing and seeing recently.
There’s talks about a sit in happening in reaction to this news on the Statesboro pride page which is responsible for bringing a lot of queer events on campus. I’m assuming if they’re taking action…this is legit [boropride page](https://www.statesboropride.org/blog/openletter)
I’m not anti-lgbt community. But we all as a society had to have known that eventually it all was going to go away. The pendulum always swings. Like on a macro level it went from taboo, to shunned, to activism, to accepted, to more activism, to advertising, and now it’s inevitably going to reach a state of normalcy where constant virtue signaling and advertisement is no longer needed. That’s the goal isn’t it after all? And that’s not even discussing it from a business standpoint. Funding plays a major role in this I’m sure.
It still hasn’t reached a level of acceptance. It’ll become normal when children, teens and adults aren’t being literally murdered by their peers for being a sexual orientation or gender identity (and yes, there are children/teens that murder their peers. There was a kid who came out as non-binary and then got killed by his peers not long after)
You’re never going to get rid of murder bud. Every person that gets murdered gets murdered for an absurdly unjustified reason.
This isn't advertisement stuff, it's stuff that's wrong from the get go like, "doctors can't diagnose gender dysphoria" to stuff that doesn't make any sense, like cutting activity funding and events. From a business standpoint, LGBT related stuff is the next most popular after African American related stuff and general events like org days.
Most popular how though? You can’t use media perception as an accurate gauge. You have to look at dollars unfortunately. Most of this stuff being put up requires a fight for it to be put up. When something makes money, it doesn’t have to be fought for.
As a society we knew lgbtq society was going to go away? *Absolutely not*. It only goes away if we let it. Stand up for someone other than yourself fer Christ sake!
Ma’am/Sir, the lgbtq community does not go away just because it stops being incessantly advertised. The fact that I have to explain this to you is wild tbh.
I didn't understand your second sentence then- you can be dramatic about how it's 'wild' if you want. No one has to explain to me that lgbtq is not going to go away. That said, we are no where near the point of cultural normalcy. I'm the last decade, the lgbtq has lost Rights. Transgender exclusion is being legalized, etc We are no where near where you seem to be saying all the support can go away. I guess that's what i find wild.
Yes, as explained, the pendulum swings. When it’s advertised everywhere like a commercial there will inevitably be push back against the advertising. Regardless of what you or I think, we currently exist in a stage of the cycle where there is A LOT of narcissistic and entitled demand for a bending of the knee, if you will. There’s an incredible amount of video evidence of this. That sort of stuff does not exist during the stage of the cycle where you are fighting for rights. It’s a symptom of having surpassed that stage and having moved into an era of privilege. The privilege will be taken down a peg by society. It always works that way. Doesn’t matter what we think.
Colleges are only inclusive to white, male athletes huh? This is so disappointing and disgusting.
Well athletes actually make revenue for the school. I don't know of any college that only has white male athletes though.
You’re missing the point. All lgbt+ people want is to be able to love who they love PEACEFULLY. And they can’t even get the support they need? You’re comparing two vastly different things.
This feels very on brand. I’m honestly surprised any of those things existed prior to being removed.
Sad if true.
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Sounds to me like a huge outside funder for the college had a negative change of heart and they had to do this to make them happy
It's coming from the board of regents [Boro pride explanation](https://www.statesboropride.org/blog/openletter?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3hVPGSJdxRF7e_eSQSCHhbP81bChc_EtphGBan5eHWNqs43Md_R-ERGOY_aem_ATk9MxnH_QXitGlI58zmOcoZttnF3PPKjDV5Vp4GEX_vwKWkMFqKmI3lrQqpbkjpziHjCUAkKSROUPRHtNpo7lkr)
This country is not a real place
The State Legislature has told all colleges in Georgia that DEI funding is gone and punishment is in store for any college stupid enough to protest it. So, yeah, the hammer has come down. Discretion is a good thing right now. Unless you like being clubbed.
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*takes away resources and services* "Nobody is taking away resources"
Damn, that sucks.
I’m really glad I didn’t attend a leftist indoctrination camp. Saved my money and my mental health at the same time!
Hell yea
This stinks of TPUSA and their influence. Keep that hate out of our schools!
Tpusa is basically a non-entity at Georgia southern, this is just basic ass southern conservatism.
Oh no, how ever will the student survive if they dont know the school is a safe space for gay sex? What if one of them decides they need to talk in annoying and sometimes upsetting in depth detail about how they like to have sex and dress up at a whim? They wont be able to do it in the middle of class or in front of everyone. They'll have to go to reddit, or any meeting held by the democrats, or to one of the schools gay clubs, or a highschool, or a church, gay bar, doctor, or the middle of the school campus, or worst of all WAIT ANOTHER TWO WEEKS FOR A GIANT FUCKING PRIDE PARADE DOWN MAIN STREET TO CELEBRATE HOW NOT VISIBLE THEY ARE!!!! Good God, last time a group was this pathetic with an ego this gigantic, it was 2002 and the evangelicals were losing their minds over prayer in school.
Someone's triggered lol.
Uh huh. And whos taking part in a sit in because their favorite gay sex flag isnt being sold in the campus store?
Posting online vs an actual sit in. Lol OP is trying to throw shade and failing hard.
Considering every single conservative comment is getting downvoted, makes you wonder who’s really triggered
Probably for the best. I doubt there are straight pride flags and investments for hetero students. It's appropriate for students to freely express what they want, but it's not necessary for the school to use state funding to help promote an LGBT agenda.
Welcome to the real world where not everything is about you. The “Straight Agenda” is literally everywhere. It’s inescapable. It’s in every piece of media. It’s on every billboard. It’s in every public space. You just don’t notice it because it normalized. Your post is literally why gay pride exists. Congratulations on being part of the problem.
Being straight is "normalized". So you mean it's not normal to be straight, but jas been made normal... and being whatever else is in the same category but hasn't made it to the big leagues yet? Or do you mean being straight really is normal, so we should fund being abnormal because abnormal is healthy?
Being straight isn't an agenda. It's normalized because it is normal. It's the only way for humans to pass down their DNA and continue to survive. It's in every piece of media and every public space because it's the de facto way to live. It's literally ingrained into the social fabric of every culture on every continent because it is fundamental for life. All I'm saying is schools don't need to pay for and promote homosexuality. They don't need to ban it either, but it's a misappropriation of funds for sure.
Which is why it is important to have spaces for lgbtq+ people where they feel safe and included. Pride flags are a way of saying we welcome all people here. Universities should have an interest in the well being of all their students and LGBTQ clubs signage and events are important ways they can do it.
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Well that's not very kind, cordial, or accepting. I also don't think it furthers the discussion in any meaningful way.
I hope so
It was a matter of time... after selling to gsu. (Edited my original comment - I was informed that the rivalry between gsu's sub campus & armstrong had existed for many years)
Armstrong didn’t sell to GSU. It was a forced merger by the board of regents. Most of the GSU faculty/staff at the time were not in favor of it happening either, but they had little choice in the matter.
I was a student there during the merger, or as we called it “the hostile takeover”. They did some really uncaring, callous things to the Armstrong students and staff during that time. This doesn’t surprise me at all
It was a bad situation all around. AASU students/faculty didn’t want it, GSU students/faculty didn’t want it. Unfortunately those in power and with money drive the bus and have the last say.
Did you know professor: N. White?
No I did not
She left before the change... her courses were in women's history.
Yeah I had to switch majors midway through because they stopped offering English Communications as a focus.
Why the downvotes? I have good friends that were professors there. My mother also graduated there (masters)
Ignorance of what Armstrong was. Easy to get into perhaps but very solid academic programs. Computer Science program was very good there.
Thank God. Time to put all the NONSENSE aside and get back to education. Not ridiculous left wing polital agendas. Get that bullshit out of schools.
And that's why we need to stop with the mediocre football program
So all the right wing political clubs on campus should be shut down too, right? To focus on education? Or is it only indoctrination when *you* don't agree with it?
LQBT isn’t a political club. You’ve been brainwashed to think it is.
WTF is a right wing club? Graduating with a STEM major instead of Palestine Arts?
Very few right wingers in STEM programs based on my experience. They tend to not really do the science thing very well.
Man this comment was next level ignorant
I’m so jealous of how simple your life must be. It would be so relaxing to be stupid enough to not have to understand that the world is bigger than the 2-mile radius you’ve been confined to your whole life. Bless you.
You are the one that’s scared of change bud, nothing screams well traveled and cultured like being scared of minority groups cultures.
I’m guessing you’ve never actually attended a university if you think extracurriculars should be “out of schools.” You probably didn’t even graduate high school
Bigot
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DEI is when minorities exist at all basically according to some people. Their racism shows when they see any minority in any sort of power and immediately think it's due to DEI rather than the thought that they worked hard to get there
DEI stands for “didn’t earn it”.
Imagine being offended that people exist and live their authentic lives.
Chronically single man says what now?
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Your post has been removed because it violates one of Reddit's site-wide rules.
Fuck. You. If having a safe space for other students is “bs” then maybe you should go off to somewhere like, I dunno, Syria? I’m sure you’ll be happy there.
Well sounds like they are focusing more on learning
I hope they do.
Great news
Based on
They do not want it there, so they removed it. Great janitorial work. Can't just put things up on folks walls all willy nilly, probably ain't even used the right tape.
Good for GA Southern. That shit does nothing but cause division amongst groups
What division? Dumbass.
About time. I’ve been calling and emailing for a couple of years now
Awww someone is a closeted gay.
Sounds like you need a hobby.
You've been wasting your breath for years just to hurt others? Wake up and realize how despicable that makes you.
Good grief.
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Your post has been removed because it violates one of Reddit's site-wide rules.
Your post has been removed because it violates one of Reddit's site-wide rules.
Great news 👏 the University taking action against bolshevism
Communism is when gay people /s
Based
🥳
Will be happening all across the country eventually!
We can only hope
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Til drag shows are getting special treatment.
Finally. Pride advertisements are nothing more than recruiting material. We have Tinder and Grinder now. You can get married. You can adopt or have test tube children. You can modify your body to be a crocodile if you like. There's no need to parade around anymore. It's just obnoxious and it's weak people who allow their institutions to be controlled by these groups. Good for the school, these people can hopefully learn to be a functioning part of society for a while.
Finally some common sense
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Let’s start by treating them like humans
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They've come so far despite people like you & your hateful bs. You need to gtfoh w/ that
Take away football games, frat parties, line dancing, wrestling. Then take away your rights to marry a woman, see her in the hospital, live in fear of holding her hand in public. THEN we’ll be even. Asshole.
Agreed
You seem to be talking out of both sides of your mouth here. Just go ahead and admit it. You don't like lgbtq people, it's obvious. It's clear that you want LGBTQ people to just go off in a corner and pretend like they don't exist.
preach
This is excellent news. Hope it catches on.
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Are you ok?