DE PERE (NBC 26) — Several dozen St. Norbert College students and faculty members attended a town hall Thursday to discuss gender identity on the Catholic school's campus, following communication from the school on the subject in September.
- The Sept. 18 email, titled "An Update on St. Norbert College’s Alignment with Catholic Teachings," indicated the school will adjust its language regarding gender identity
- LGBTQ+ students, and others, called for more transparency from the school on what the new approach will mean for them
- A faculty member invited NBC 26 , but we were turned away by a college employee at the door
- Video shows students' perspectives, and recent college communications on the subject
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, with additional details added for web)
Gender identity is a hot topic on the St. Norbert College campus right now, and has been for the past few months, ever since the school aligned with a Catholic Church position that recognizes only two genders.
Thursday night, students and faculty raised their voices at a discussion about gender identity, criticizing the messaging and policy changes on campus.
The Church wrote the following, in part, in August in its Declaration “Dignitas Infinita” on Human Dignity: "It needs to be emphasized that ‘biological sex and the socio-cultural role of sex (gender) can be distinguished but not separated.' Therefore, all attempts to obscure reference to the ineliminable sexual difference between man and woman are to be rejected."
St. Norbert called the declaration "a document that clarifies how the church views the relationship between sex and gender, recognizing two sexes."
The school's student affairs office wrote in a September email to students: "St. Norbert College is updating its language, while maintaining our steadfast commitment to supporting every community member. In the coming months, we will be updating materials like enrollment applications, forms, and our website to reflect these changes."
Students say third gender options have been removed from school forms — and that the tangible changes since September extend to bathrooms, too.
"After this decision came out, they changed our 'Gender-neutral restroom' signs to 'restroom,'" junior Abigail Prudlow said.
Theology professors and student groups held a town hall Thursday to discuss the changes, which they called "Communio Means All: A Discussion of Gender Identity at SNC."
"There's a lot of disagreement within the Church around what it means to talk about gender and sexuality," said Craig Ford, an assistant professor of theology and religious science. "So why don't we bring that conversation into our classrooms, into our institutions? I think that actually is the best representation of Catholicism."
A faculty member invited NBC 26 to the event — but when we arrived, another college employee said we couldn't enter, saying it was not a college-sanctioned event.
Students say the school has regressed on transparency.
"Yes, I did choose to go to a Catholic college," said junior Scotlyn Roemhild. "And they are not fulfilling their end of the deal, of the dialogue, and the honesty and the accountability that I was promised."
Members of the LGBTQ community on campus addressed their statements Thursday to the administration.
"We, as a student body feel disrespected," senior Cassidy Catalano, who is transgender, said. "We feel like we're not being listened to."
"We're just simply shutting out discussion, and trying to almost regress into the past, from where we were," freshman Thomas Pollack said.
"The school is kind of just denying the fact that the way I identify myself is real," said sophomore Ryn Tallman, who identifies as nonbinary. "That's very invalidating."
"They need to start listening to us," junior Violet Hagen said.
The school's president has been open about the school's financial struggles in recent communication, but mum on gender, writing the following in an October email to students:
"SNC is in a period of adaptation, and thanks to your unwavering support, we have been able to protect our sacred mission."
Thursday evening college president Laurie Joyner sent out a November update about "Preserving Saint Norbert's Legacy," but President Joyner did not address gender identity in the email. The administration also did not respond to multiple requests for comment Thursday.
