By SHANNON O. WELLS
During the Board of Trustees meeting on June 23, a woman identifying herself as a Pitt alumna interrupted Chancellor Patrick Gallagher’s farewell address, listing various demands related to transgender rights, ranging from LBGTQ+ resource centers to “trans-inclusive health care,” before being asked to cease. Campus police eventually escorted the speaker and three fellow protesters out of the meeting.
The speaker, who had taken part in a small, peaceful demonstration before the meeting outside the William Pitt Union sponsored by the activist group Trans Action Building, stood up midway through Gallagher’s commentary on the importance of University community. Identifying herself as “Stephanie, an alumnus and member of Trans Action Building,” she acknowledged the group’s desire to address the Board of Trustees “in public meeting,” rapidly listing off a series of needs and issues the group wants the administration to address.
Those include resource centers for the LGBTQ+, disabled, and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities, health care for the University’s trans population and a different approach to de-escalating campus crises and disruptions.
“We want trans-inclusive health care and housing, including additional medical leave for trans-related health care,” she said. “We demand that you de-escalate crises on campus through trained medical health care providers; no more cops for mental health crises. We demand you to end union busting and provide campus-wide minimum wage of $20 an hour.”
“You are out of order,” Trustees Chair Douglas Browning said. “May I ask you to cease?”
She continued speaking, leading Browning to ask that she and her colleagues leave, and eventually be escorted out of the room.
Once the commotion died down, Gallagher said, “Of course we will respond to their demands and interests as well, offline,” adding, “but that was not the crescendo I was going for,” drawing laughter from those in the room. “It is important that I remind you that you also can’t be a chancellor if you don’t have the support of the university that you lead,” he added. “It’s really that simple. That support (is) the reason we’re here.”
A statement from the University, said Pitt “strongly supports the right to protest and the right of free speech under the First Amendment. Complications can arise when protests become disruptive. The University hears the concerns aired at today’s Board of Trustees meeting and will address them offline.”
The University also said it is “committed to fostering an environment that allows everyone to thrive and supporting all Pitt community members, including through Disability Resources and Services, the Office of Inclusion and Belonging in the Division of Student Affairs and an array of resources within the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion to support Pitt’s many diverse populations.”
Before the Trustees meeting began, a group of about 15 gathered peacefully outside the William Pitt Union. Organized by Trans Action Building, the protest was held, as a promotional flyer read, to “make our voices heard at this June’s Board of Trustees meeting and demand 3 in-person, fully staffed resource centers for LGBTQ+, disabled and BIPOC students, staff and faculty at Pitt!”
In April 2021, a task force formed in August 2020 by then-Pitt junior Tyler Viljaste issued a report outlining the status of LGBTQIA+ resources at the University and called for a new physical center and staff hires, both of which would be dedicated to the LGBTQIA+ community on campus.
Shannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.
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