Canceled pride graduation celebrations. Eliminated resource centers for LGBTQ students. Tighter rules for using a preferred name on class rosters and student IDs. These are some of the casualties on college campuses in Georgia as a national push to erase DEI initiatives and programs takes hold.
University System of Georgia schools across the state have adopted a variety of changes in response to a flurry of federal orders from the Trump administration. Republican state lawmakers have also pursued a ban on DEI programs and policies in Georgia’s public schools and universities.
Georgia Southern was one of the first universities in the state to roll back DEI initiatives according to Chanel Haley, deputy director with Georgia Equality, which advocates on behalf of LGBTQ Georgians. Concerned students reached out to Haley after the school cancelled graduation ceremonies that previously celebrated the achievements of LGBTQ+ students.
“I think that people need to realize it’s harm for everybody, not just LGBTQ students,” Haley said about DEI rollbacks.
In Atlanta, Georgia Tech dissolved their LGBTQIA+ Resource Center, Women’s Resource Center and Black Culture, Innovation and Technology team and moved them under the university’s Arts, Belonging and Community Department.
“Every university had a DEI office, and now we don’t, that’s a 180 degree turn,” said Matthew Boedy, who is president of the Georgia chapter of the American Association of University Professors.
‘A place they can go’
With a student population over 45,000, Kennesaw State University is one of the larger public universities in the metro Atlanta area.
Located towards the north end of Cobb County, KSU’s wider community has earned a progressive reputation in recent years. New policies at KSU have inspired a wave of opposition on and off campus as the community continues to express disappointment.
Some of the changes have affected programs and policies that once benefited LGBTQ+ students.
Ames West, a KSU senior, grew up in an evangelical household where being a part of the LGBTQ+ community was considered a “grave sin.” At KSU, West became a familiar face at the LGBTQ+ resource center and befriended numerous peers who shared similar stories.
Last spring, KSU internally announced that the center would no longer cater specifically to LGBTQ+ students and would be rebranded as a part of a new Department of Student Engagement and Support.
“This shift includes reorganizing various student programs into targeted support hubs focused on key areas like career readiness, academic success, mentorship, and well-being.
KSU remains committed to student success, transparency throughout the transition, and full compliance with federal, state, and University System of Georgia guidelines,” KSU’s assistant vice president of communications, Tammy DeMel, said.
As someone who visited the resource center up to three times a week, West worried about friends and students who would no longer have a place to be themselves. Fueled by fear, West helped mobilize the Kennesaw Pride Alliance, a support network for LGBTQ+ KSU students, to look for solutions.
“I just couldn’t sit back and do nothing,” West said.
“We don’t care how much it costs, we don’t care how much it takes, we’re going to make sure our community on campus has a place they can go that has the support they need so that they do not feel left alone or like no one’s there to help them,” West added.
After spending the better part of their summer searching for a LGBTQ+ friendly space on campus, the alliance opened the doors to their new Kennesaw Pride Center in late July.
The new location is on the top floor of Kennesaw’s First United Lutheran Church, and the alliance hopes the student-run community hub and pride center becomes an inclusive spot for KSU’s LGBTQ+ community.
Decorated with colorful flags, posters and an assortment of thrifted furniture, the center is ready to welcome students back to campus this fall. While the center will serve as a refuge to visitors in between classes, the alliance also plans to use the space to host social events including their annual pride gala.
Preferred name changes
Evelyn Priddy, a transgender sophomore studying computer engineering, expects to be directly affected by a new preferred name policy at KSU.
The change stems from a University System of Georgia policy. According to the USG Business Procedures Manual, the policy aims “to respect individuals’ preferred names while providing consistent identity management standards and reducing the risk of fraud by impersonation.”
USG notified institution presidents of the change last November and policy enforcement began July 1. Critics worry that the change has the potential of outing transgender students who no longer use their government-recognized names.
Some transgender people refer to the names they were assigned at birth as “dead names.” For many, being referred to by a dead name can be hurtful or bring back painful memories.
In previous years, KSU students hoping to go by a different name could submit a request to use a preferred name. Once approved, this name replaced the legal name associated with student registration.
While official transcripts and degrees would still use the legal name, the policy allowed preferred names to display on student IDs and class rosters.
Policy enforcement will now require a student’s preferred name to be placed in parentheses next to their legal name on all identifying documents.
“My legal name is going to be on every roster because I can’t file the forms to change it fast,” Priddy said. “I mean at this point I’m just gonna have to explain it. I hope I’ll be okay, but also, you could see how that could be a bit of a safety risk.”
For transgender students like Priddy who were given a name at birth that they no longer identify with, pursuing a legal name change is one of the only options.
A legal name change process in Georgia is often a time-consuming ordeal. From paperwork to notary requirements and legal publishing policies, a name change can take weeks and become a costly feat.
In Cobb County, notices must be published in the county’s local newspaper to notify community members that a petition to change a legal name has been filed. These notices must be published once every four weeks to meet the legal requirement.
In an effort to assist students directly affected by the new policy, The Southern Legal Center for Youth partnered with student organizations to host a virtual name change clinic to help students seeking a legal name change start the process.
Liz Harding Chao, the center’s founder and president created the organization after noticing a lack of local legal representation for youth in the South. As a LGBTQ+-led organization, the group noticed an increased need for legal assistance with name changes and offered support to KSU students.
“For a lot of trans and gender-expansive folks, their dead name has a lot of baggage associated with it. It’s from a time that they often rather not remember or think about it,” Harding Chao said.
Clinic clients represent themselves but law students and attorneys from the center help clients fill out the appropriate paperwork. The center also helps interested applicants fill out a poverty affidavit to combat any financial barriers.
Last week, KSU’s virtual clinic served seven students and accumulated a wait list with an additional 10. While the clinic helped students start the process of officially registering their preferred name, the legal change will not be completed before the first day of classes.
This post contains content that was first published on Georgia Recorder and republished here under a Creative Commons License. Read the original article.
