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The College Republicans at Syracuse University will host Sara Stockton, a local family therapist who has been advertised as a gender expert by the organization, for a speech and Q&A session Wednesday evening at Drumlins Country Club.

The event, titled “From Certainty to Skepticism: A Gender Therapist’s Evolution in Understanding Gender Affirmation,” has sparked backlash from LGBTQ groups, experts and trans people on SU’s campus and the broader central New York community. Many of those same people are calling for the event to be canceled due to concerns over Stockton’s anti-trans sentiments.

Stockton, an SU alumna who is involved with Genspect — an international group critical of social and medical transition— has publicly opposed gender-affirming care for children. Beginning in 2008, she was part of a team that taught schools and doctors how to adjust their practices to be more gender-affirming, but has since left the field due to concerns about its impact on children.

In response to Stockton’s speaker event, LGBTQ Syracuse announced on Instagram they will host a peaceful protest at 6 p.m. outside of Drumlins prior to the event.

“I’ve been specializing in gender-affirmative therapy for 25 years, and her perspective is not supported by the best practices of any organization,” said Deb Coolhart, creator and leader of SU’s Transgender Affirmative Support Team in the marriage and family therapy department. “It’s completely unethical, and she’s not speaking to therapists or trans people, so the only purpose of her presentation is to spread hate speech.”

Stockton was originally supposed to speak in the Maxwell Auditorium, but the College Republicans announced in a recent Instagram post it moved the event to Drumlins due to security concerns and a “mandate” from the Department of Public Safety.

SU previously notified the College Republicans in September 2023 that they would not allow the Onondaga County chapter of Moms for Liberty – a right-wing group that advocates for removing topics such as race, sexuality and gender identity from public school curricula – to host an event in Watson Theater. Student groups are unable to reserve space for outside entities’ meetings, according to a statement from an SU spokesperson.

John Parker, chairman of the College Republicans, said the group is hosting Stockton because of her “unique” perspective as a local Syracuse alumna with experience providing gender-affirmative care to children in the past. Parker said childhood transition is still an open discussion that should be debated.

“We hope that this event will re-open this critical debate that never should have been closed, demonstrate the university’s commitment t o free speech and academic freedom and offer the outside evidence and perspectives to campus it seems to desperately need,” Parker wrote in a statement to The Daily Orange.

Kirsten Mathieson, a graduate student therapist in the MFT department and a member of TAST, said Stockton’s views are unfounded.

“The University has social media posts and media statements that tout their support of marginalized groups on the appropriate days,” Mathieson wrote in an email statement to The D.O., “but when is all of this for show and just well executed virtue signaling and when do actions define what Syracuse University truly stands for.”

Similarly, Coolhart said SU “loves” to purport a commitment to diversity and inclusion, but when it comes time to advocate for marginalized communities, the university is “choosing to provide a platform for hate speech” that can leave trans students feeling unprotected.

Coolhart began a change.org petition on Nov. 21 requesting the event be canceled and calling out SU for supporting the “spread of hate speech.” The petition, titled “Stop Sarah Stockton’s Unethical Hate Speech at Syracuse University,” has over 1,500 signatures as of Tuesday at 10 p.m.

While she did not directly name the petition, Stockton wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that despite petitions, she would still be speaking at the event.

“The threats from my fellow colleagues are unbelievable. Just trying to have a civil conversation,” Stockton wrote in the post Monday.

A university spokesperson said the event is organized by a registered student organization that is able to host events and speakers on campus who may hold perspectives that are “controversial, provocative views or offensive to some.” The spokesperson clarified the event is not sponsored by SU.

They said the LGBTQ Resource Center will host a panel discussion titled “Health and Wellness Impacts of Anti-trans Legislation: Finding Hope Through Community and Connection” at Slocum Hall from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in “support of our LGBTQ community and allies.”

In an article published Tuesday on the College Republicans of America website, Parker wrote the College Republicans of America “stepped in” to provide funding after SU’s Student Association denied student activity funding for the event. SA did not grant event funding to the College Republicans at its Nov. 13 meeting after members raised concerns about Stockton’s ideology.

Although not directly involved, the university worked with the College Republicans to move the event off campus due to the sensitive nature of the event, the spokesperson wrote.

Despite this change, members of SU’s community have said the relocation is still inaction and expressed concern that the university is choosing to not protect the trans community by not canceling the event.

Jessica Ryan, a current graduate student and part of TAST, said by allowing this event to be held on its property, SU is sending a direct message that they are willing to spread the uninformed and exclusionary views of one individual at the expense of the trans community.

Hilary Avalone, LGBTQ program manager at the Q Center at ACR Health, expressed outrage that SU is providing a welcoming platform for Stockton to spread her “transphobic stance.”

“It is deeply upsetting and equally concerning that the school has chosen to uplift and prioritize a voice that chooses to perpetuate disinformation instead of supporting their queer and trans students,” Avalone wrote in an email statement to The D.O.

Morgan Bullis, a transgender woman and faculty member at SUNY ESF, said she is wary of providing Stockton a platform, as she believes her views are based on “fear, hate and ignorance.” However, she said the university should not cancel the event.

“I think canceling the event only gives them the rallying cry and martyrdom they wish. If you canceled the event, conservative, anti-trans people can say ‘They’re silencing us,’” she said.

Jimmy Luckman, SU’s associate director of first-year seminar and a part of SU’s Queer Mentorship Program, highlighted concerns about the event’s impact on the campus climate for LGBTQ students. He said based on Stockton’s anti-trans reputation, her speech will likely have a negative impact on student engagement, gender expression and identity development.

Coolhart similarly criticized Stockton for opposing gender-affirming care, pointing out that reputable health organizations, including the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, recommend gender-affirmative care for trans youth.

Dr. PJ DiPietro, associate professor and director of SU’s LGBTQ studies and women’s and gender studies program, and Coolhart said Stockton’s views against gender-affirming medical care directly disregard science. Coolhart additionally referenced higher suicide rates among trans individuals who do not have access to gender-affirming medical care.

“(Stockton) speaks out against providing these life-saving treatments, which is unethical as a helping professional that should aim to do no harm. Her perspective is directly contributing to harm for the transgender community, including contributing to suicidality,” Coolhart wrote in an email statement to The D.O.

In the documentary “What Is a Woman?,” hosted by conservative political commentator Matt Walsh, Stockton makes various claims about trans people and specifically trans youth.
“So now we are seeing kids that are identifying as animals going to school, and they are purring instead of answering questions and they meow and the teachers are not allowed to question it because it’s considered queer identity,” Stockton said in the documentary.

Reuters determined that there is no evidence that U.S. schoolchildren are self-identifying as animals or disrupting classrooms.

Stockton also calls trans children “lab rats” for hormones and puberty blockers in the documentary and claimed that with 10 years of hormone treatment, transgender people give themselves cancer.

In response to this perspective, Coolhart cited a systematic literature review of hormone therapy safety for trans people that determined, based on existing data, that gender-affirming hormone therapy is safe with provider supervision. Further, the research, conducted by the Transgender Medicine Research Group at the Boston University School of Medicine, found it does not cause an increase in cancer prevalence or mortality.

Several trans people and experts called for further dialogue on the university’s policies for vetting guest speakers, emphasizing the importance of understanding the purpose of an event and the impact it can have on marginalized communities.

Luckman highlighted the need for more involvement from cisgender individuals in advocating against events that could fuel hatred and harm to the LGBTQ community.

Mathieson said the university should be using its privilege to protect and support the trans community by canceling the event, instead of allowing those with cisgender privilege to host a speaker like Stockton who can perpetuate transphobic views.

“This is the time for Syracuse University to demonstrate with action that it truly stands for diversity and inclusion by not allowing this harassment and discrimination to harm the trans community,” Mathieson wrote.

Published on November 29, 2023 at 12:30 am

Contact Samantha: saolande@syr.edu