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Faculty, students and alumni at Providence College in Rhode Island have accused the administration of “hypocrisy toward and systemic oppression of LGBTQ+ people at PC,” The Providence Journal reported Thursday.
“While promising shifts in the past seemed to back up the College’s professed commitment to inclusion, virtually all progress has been swiftly dismantled under the current administration,” said an open letter to Father Kenneth Sicard, president of the Catholic and Dominican college. “There is an escalating and alarming record of homophobic and transphobic practices toward LGBTQ+ communities within and affiliated with the College which we deem to be anti-Catholic in nature.”
The letter, dated March 18, had about 500 signatures of support as of Thursday and provides a timeline of “LGBTQ+ inclusion and struggle” at PC dating back to the 1930s, including “recent examples of the College’s continued, flagrant failure to protect and support its LGBTQ+ members,” such as the prohibition of Pride flags and the word “pride” when discussing sexuality or gender.
The latest example of “this repression,” the letter said, was the resignation of E Corry Kole, Providence College’s former director of DEI Education and Professional Development. Kole, who identifies a nonbinary, resigned on March 8 “after senior leadership at the College thwarted their efforts to fulfill their job description,” according to the letter.
Sicard said a statement on the college’s stance on the LGBTQ+ community is forthcoming, according to The Providence Journal.
“Due to the sensitivity of this issue at a Catholic and Dominican college, the statement has been in process for more than three years and has undergone numerous iterations,” Sicard said. “Dozens of people have provided input to and feedback on this document.”
James Waters, a biology professor and trans woman, told the newspaper she was asked to provide feedback on a draft statement two years ago and that it contained “long theological, almost legal arguments about why it’s OK to be LGBTQ inclusive on campus.”
There’s a “a fear that permeates the air that we’re not welcome,” Water’s said. “As a queer person on campus, I am petrified.”
