A sophomore Army ROTC member at Southern Oregon University had his campaign for student government suspended for posting “transphobic” comments on Facebook and violating the schools bylaws promoting “inclusivity” on campus.
WATCH: Free Speech Provocateur Takes Campuses by Storm
Chase Gildea, who describes himself as a “Sensitivity Mythbuster” on his Facebook page, ultimately lost his race for a seat in the student senate by about 40 votes, the College Fix reports.
Gildea’s opponent in the race, Oneta Cantlon, filed an official grievance against him with the student election committee for “inappropriate behavior on social media,” including some years-old comments he made criticizing gender-neutral bathrooms and the use of transgender pronouns.
WATCH: Special Snowflakes Gone Wild!
“I just didn’t feel comfortable doing it,” Gildea said when asked about the use of preferred pronouns when addressing transgender individuals. “I don’t personally think I should have to but I’m going to do it to make everyone feel more comfortable.”
More: Meet the Defenders of Free Speech on Campus
The election committee determined that Gildea could continue running for student senate, but suspended his campaign for one day and recommended that the situation be treated as a “teaching moment.” The committee also recommended that Gildea make use of the university’s LGBT resource centers to educate himself on the issues.
“I am lacking knowledge on all of this, I have never been trained on this and I am learning. I never even heard of being trans until I came to SOU,” said Gildea, “I’m not willing to negotiate (my views) about gender-neutral bathrooms, but that doesn’t mean I’m not willing to learn.”
TAKE THE POLL
