At Franklin & Marshall College, over 125 professors, administrators, and staff members signed a letter to “unequivocally denounce the choice to invite transphobic speaker Paula Scanlan to [the] campus on March 27, in close proximity to Transgender Day of Visibility.”
Scanlan was a teammate of trans-identifying swimmer Lia Thomas, born with the name William Thomas, who swam on the women’s team at the University of Pennsylvania. Scanlan has expressed that she was uncomfortable with Thomas being a member of the team due to his gender—she felt her female teammates were overlooked in favor of Thomas’s greater strength and athleticism.
Scanlan is currently on tour in partnership with Young America’s Foundation to discuss her college swim experience at universities across the country with a lecture titled “Biological Men Should Not Compete in Women’s Sports.”
The writers of the letter claim Scanlan is “transphobic” and has “refused to acknowledge the identity of the trans community.” Although they “maintain that a liberal arts college should be a space for the free exchange of ideas,” they write:
“We believe that our role as a college community must include speaking out against such dehumanization. To the queer, trans, and nonbinary members of our community: you have allies on this campus who value and support you. We are committed to fighting alongside you. To President Altmann and the F&M administration: we call on you to make a strong, unequivocal statement of care and support on behalf of all of our LGBTQ+ students, colleagues, and community members.”
