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Pres Schill sends out letter of support for UO transgender community

Dear members of the University of Oregon community,

The University of Oregon is proud to be a welcoming and inclusive campus that supports the rights of every member of our community, including people of all genders and gender identities. 

Recently, there have been events that have left many transgender students and members of the faculty and staff within our community feeling concerned and vulnerable. This is not acceptable, and I want everyone to know that the UO will continue to be a place where anyone can live and study in safety, with dignity, with authenticity, and in an environment that is free from discrimination. We remain committed to providing safe and equitable access to all of our programs, activities, and facilities regardless of gender identity or expression. 

The UO respects everyone’s right to self-determination and to live as their true selves, and in support of that commitment our institution continues to offer gender-neutral housing and bathroom options, gender-neutral support and education services, and programs that honor people’s pronoun and name preferences. As our Title IX coordinator recently stated in this message, our commitment to the fundamental protections of Title IX remain unwavering. I hope that those who need support will take advantage of the wealth of resources that are provided at the UO.

I want to reassure all of our students, the faculty and staff, and visitors to our campus that you are, and remain, welcome here at the University of Oregon and an important part of our community.

Best regards,

Michael H. Schill

President and Professor of Law

20 Comments

  1. Conservative Duck 03/16/2017

    “The UO respects everyone’s right to self-determination and to live as their true selves”
    How about the conservative ducks like myself? I don’t believe a man (XY) can ever become a woman (XX), or vice versa. I think that those with hormone imbalances might do better on a hormone treatment closer to what was intended (testosterone for XY, estrogen for XX), rather than placating them and forcing society to play along. I find the rejection of objective reality for subjective “personal truths” to be offensive. In fact, I find it against my religious beliefs.
    Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female’?

    • duckduckgo 03/16/2017

      Living in society does mean that not all beliefs can be simultaneously accommodated. So how do we as a society decide who gets priority–the conservative person calling for other people to be subjected to hormone treatment so they are not offended, or a transgender person making a choice for themselves? Some may find this choice difficult to make, but I tend to side against those wanting to have others injected with chemicals because a book told them other people are wrong.

      • Conservative Duck 03/16/2017

        I feel like you’ve intentionally misrepresented what I wrote, but just to make it clear. What I meant by “I think that those with hormone imbalances might do better on a hormone treatment closer to what was intended” was that those who chose to voluntarily undergo hormone treatment (a common “cure” for gender dysphoria) should receive the hormones that match their genetic makeup (testosterone for XY, estrogen for XX). That is, we can’t ever make a man a woman, so why would we pump them full of female hormones to “fix” them?
        I condone forcing people to undergo chemical treatments without their consent about as much as I condone forcing people to accept their political worldview because the university president told them to.
        “So how do we as a society decide who gets priority” we adhere to objective reality an other pillars of western society like reason, logic, etc. Your feelings don’t trump objective fact.
        “I tend to side against those wanting to have others injected with chemicals because a book told them other people are wrong.” is not what I said or intended to say, so take your straw man and disingenuous debate elsewhere.

        • duckduckgo 03/16/2017

          I did make some assumptions, and I am sorry for misrepresenting your views. I was trying to fill in the gaps between your position that God made only men and women, the espousal of hormone treatments, and personal truths being offensive to you.

          My first sentence is reasonable, though, would you agree? People have opposing views and they cannot all be held in a society at the same time. We have to use some method to decide how to resolve conflicts.

          What struck me as ironic is that you say you find asserting subjective “personal truths” to be offensive, but then follow that with a statement about your religious beliefs, which are the most subjective, most personal of any truth. You will certainly not win over a diverse society by basing your argument on a religious text. Your other argument so far is to say an XY person cannot be XX, which most would recognize is missing the crux of the issue.

    • incorrect source material 03/16/2017

      When uo says it respects self determination, it’s to the exclusion of what you think others should or should not do. More specific to your points, not everyone is born genetically XX or XY, so at some point you’re going to need to compromise your beliefs to better fit with reality. You may also want to get tested, there’s likely at least a 1 in 500 chance your genetics don’t match your assumed gender.

      • Conservative Duck 03/16/2017

        “When uo says it respects self determination, it’s to the exclusion of what you think others should or should not do.”
        That wasn’t stated, implied, or even true. I’m being told I have to respect someone else’s delusions, for example. I’m being told what I should do. Soon enough this preferred pronoun garbage will go from voluntary to mandated. MY self determination is at question.
        “More specific to your points, not everyone is born genetically XX or XY, so at some point you’re going to need to compromise your beliefs to better fit with reality.”
        I acknowledged fringe cases like Klinefelter syndrome in my other comment. If anything, it is the exception that proves the rule (or defines what is normal, typical, average).
        “You may also want to get tested, there’s likely at least a 1 in 500 chance your genetics don’t match your assumed gender.”
        Speaking of source material, where’d you pull that number from?

        • UO Matters Post author | 03/16/2017

          Yes, those transgender people are coming for your self determination, CD. I suggest you get off the internet immediately – or at least my blog – and head for the hills while there’s still time to save yourself.

          • Conservative Duck 03/16/2017

            “Yes, those transgender people are coming for your self determination, CD.”
            An over-reaching and authoritarian liberal leadership is actually more concerning than guys on estrogen, but thanks for the glib dismissal of my very real concerns.
            “I suggest you get off the internet – or at least my blog – immediately, and head for the hills while there’s still time to save yourself.”
            Suggestion noted. These next four years are not the time for retreat.

  2. New Year Cat 03/16/2017

    But, CD, your religion is not that of everyone else. Other people, cultures and religions have a different view of gender and sexuality, and while we live, no one is priviledged to know which is truely correct. Transgender people are not harming cisgender people like me and, presumably, you, so we don’t get to tell them how to live. The fact you might find the concept offensive doesn’t count, and neither does the fact that others might count yours offensive allow them to dictate what religion, or lack of it, you must be forced to follow.

    • Conservative Duck 03/16/2017

      “no one is priviledged to know which is truely correct.”
      Goodthink. There’s that subjective “personal truths” I was talking about earlier. Yes, as a matter of fact, we can know who is truly and factually correct. Born with a penis and XY genes? Congratulations, it’s a boy! Vagina and XX? Girl! Other people, cultures and religions have been recognizing this simple fact of biology since the dawn of mankind. (this is a simplification for brevity’s sake, obviously there are outlier cases like Klinefelter syndrome, but that only reinforces my point: sexual dimorphism is the norm, and XY genes never become XX genes)
      “Transgender people are not harming cisgender people like me and, presumably, you…”
      Bellyfeel, and a bit presumptuous of you,isn’t it? Some of us recognize that the health of our society is the sum of the health of the individuals who make up that society. So if we allow individuals to be mentally unhealthy, and in fact encourage, celebrate and take pride in it, then this mental health issue becomes normalized and potentially widespread. Some of us don’t want to abandon objective truth, nor do we want these subjective “personal truths” for our society and don’t want to raise our children in such a society.
      “…so we don’t get to tell them how to live.”
      The president of this University has clearly taken the side polar opposite of mine. He wants to define what are acceptable opinions for myself at this university. I face “sensitivity training” or the very real possibility of losing my job for the way I think and the political opinions I hold. How is this not telling me how to live?
      The very word “transgender” is blackwhite. You cannot transition from a man to a woman, or from a woman to a man. XY genes never become XY genes. A penis never becomes a vagina. These are objective facts beyond bellyfeels.

      • HR 03/16/2017

        Yup, part of the deal is that if you want to keep getting paid, you have to quit worrying so much about who is taking a dump in the stall next to you.

  3. HungryHippos 03/16/2017

    so what were the specific events that led to this email from Schill? anyone know?

    • UO Matters Post author | 03/16/2017

      Some Trump bathroom thing. “There are just two genders, like must pee with like, and stop mixing it up.” Fuck him.

      • dog 03/16/2017

        That must be where Trump has also placed the new federal budget …

  4. José 03/17/2017

    … those were my thoughts exactly. He doesn’t say what events he is referring to. This is just more of the same recurring BS propaganda from Schill. I question the integrity of these letters.

    • UO Matters Post author | 03/17/2017

      WTF? UO’s President just wrote a strong letter in support of our transgender students, and you’re questioning his integrity because why?

      • cdsinclair 03/17/2017

        The specific events that led to this email were:

        Trump rescinded the Obama administration Title IX guidance on February 22. The administration put a trans-positive message on ATO saying that they would (among other things) continue under the Obama-era guidance.

        The LGBTQ* caucus of United Academics met last week and decided to ask for a more public trans-positive statement from the president due to the fact that this is a vulnerable population that we felt deserved additional support in the current political climate. One of our members drafted a Senate resolution calling on such a statement, and President Schill agreed to send out his message before this legislation was voted on in the Senate.

        The amended resolution passed by the Senate is a statement in support of transgender students by the faculty.

        Cheers to President Schill for such a positive reaction to an issue brought to him by a group of faculty. Jeers to anyone who thinks this was “BS propaganda”.

        • José 03/17/2017

          I’m still unclear on what the threat is to our LGBTQ community. And are you saying that Schill’s letter was the result of some sort of voting procedure?

  5. José 03/17/2017

    I don’t believe that the majority of the transgender community want this kind of attention. Schill makes very vague and generalized statements about groups of people as if they all think the same way. It’s political propaganda and is the opposite of support. It’s what makes people automatically think about bathrooms when they hear the word transgender.

    • cdsinclair 03/17/2017

      Apparently, explicitly supporting people through a list of definitive actions “our institution continues to offer gender-neutral housing and bathroom options, gender-neutral support and education services, and programs that honor people’s pronoun and name preferences”, is viewed by some as the opposite of support.

      Others, myself included, will continue to laud statements like:
      “The University of Oregon is proud to be a welcoming and inclusive campus that supports the rights of every member of our community, including people of all genders and gender identities.”

      We will push back when these words are not met with equal action. But in this instance I believe we have allies in administration and we should congratulate them for being willing to stick their necks out on behalf of marginalized individuals. Especially when they do so in response to a request from faculty (who have an equally strong commitment to diversity, equity and equality, but restricted access to the communications mechanism of the university).

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