Racist incidents on campus and the weekend shooting in Pittsburgh

     The WGSS Program does not condone the racist, homophobic, or sexist behavior of faculty (or students or staff) on the GS campus. We adhere to the standards of our discipline and for excellence in teaching, which call for inclusivity, evidence-based research and teaching, and a classroom environment that is supportive for ALL students to learn. Black lives matter.

     The WGSS Program also condemns the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. We send condolences to the victims and families who were affected. As a Holocaust and Gender scholar, I know from teaching this history and guarding these truths  with facts and evidence-based research that hate speech unchecked is not benign. (Adapted in part from LAMOTH).

     We will also be issuing a statement in response to the Trump Administration’s leaked proposed changes to federal policy around the definition of gender. As U of A has stated, “While this is not yet policy, we recognize it as another manifestation of a politics of devastation by which the Trump administration is intent on eradicating trans people from public life. This move toward eradication is part of a larger attack on various vulnerable and disenfranchised communities, as well as those among us with multiple marginalized identities.” 

     The WGSS Program strives to teach students and faculty about diversity and inclusion, as well as about empathy and the importance of standing up to hatred and bigotry. We believe that by learning from the past, we can begin to create a more respectful, dignified and humane world. We have not given up.

Signed in solidarity,

Dr. Lisa A. Costello, Director WGSS, Statesboro

Dr. Jane Rago, Director WGSS, Savannah

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