CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A transgender student at Central Piedmont Community College says she was harassed by a school security guard as she left a women’s restroom March 18th. The Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBT civil rights organization, is now calling on CPCC to implement an action plan. HRC says the student, Andraya Williams, produced her ID when the guard asked for it. Williams was allegedly told she would only be allowed back on campus if she used one of the three gender-neutral restrooms. HRC says Williams regularly uses the female restrooms on campus. HRC says CPCC suspended Williams.
The director of the HRC Youth and Campus Engagement program Sultan Shakir says, “Andraya Williams was detained and harassed for nothing more than being transgender. The callousness of this campus safety officer and outright harassment of a transgender student demonstrates the need for a concrete non-discrimination policy on campus and for dialog and training for faculty, students and staff on LGBT awareness.”
Shakir says, “After talking to Andraya and her lawyer, it’s clear Andraya possesses more strength and grace than many adults. As a group of security personnel mocked her, she calmly did everything they asked while keeping her lawyer on the phone. And because she was told she was suspended and not allowed to return to campus, she’s now at risk for failing one of her courses because she missed a critical class. Despite all of this, Andraya simply wants to get back to being a student and the college should make every effort to help her.”
On Thursday, HRC sent a letter to CPCC President Dr. Tony Zeiss, calling on the school to apologize to Williams and implement a non-discrimination policy as well as training for security and other personnel.
Campus Pride and Time Out Youth are also calling on the school to apologize. Time Out Youth is inviting students, community members and local leaders to meet on Friday, April 12 at 12PM at the corner of Elizabeth Avenue and Kings Drive to protest prejudice and discrimination. A representative for Time Out Youth says, “We, as students, community members, and community leaders believe in the value that diversity brings to the educational experience, and we raise our collective voice to demonstrate our belief that transphobia and racism have no place at our school. We are demanding that CPCC: 1) publicly apologize to Andraya Williams, 2) provide comprehensive training on trans inclusion to all CPCC employees, and 3) take steps towards establishing clear, trans* inclusive policies at CPCC.”
A spokesman for CPCC sent WCCB a statement that reads, “Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) is an open-door, open-access institution of learning, and we are proud of its rich diversity. CPCC has a 50-year history of being fair, respectful and considerate of all students. The College does not tolerate harassment of any kind. College personnel have been investigating the incident in question for several days, and the goal is to reach an amicable resolution with the student in the near future. The College is examining its policies and procedures to be certain that they are in compliance with current laws. The College will work to ensure those policies are clearly communicated. We intend to have on-going dialogue with local and state LGBT leaders, including the College’s own LGBT organization, as we continue to address this issue.”
Update: CPCC sent WCCB an updated statement that now says the College has finished examining its policies and procedures in relation to this incident and that it is “…certain that they are in complaince with current laws. The College will work to ensure those policies are followed and clearly communicated.” The updated statement also notes, “The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prevents educational institutions from releasing most types of student information and discussing individual student matters.”
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