Portland State University declared its commitment to being a "safe space" amid "anti-trans" legislation.
Portland State University president Stephen Percy wrote a memo to the campus community bemoaning "anti-trans bills" and how "many loud voices have made no secret of their desire to target trans, non-binary and gender diverse people."
He touted the offerings of the "Queer Resource Center" on campus, such as an upcoming "Trans and Gender Expansive Celebration and Community Hour" for 5 days in a row, where "cotton candy, temporary tattoos, and coloring will be available."
The president also noted that another means of showing support for this community will be donating to the QRC Foundation Account, which in turn will be able to create "bigger, better and more inclusive Trans Days of Empowerment, Resistance and Resilience in fall 2023."
Aside from college students that are legal adults, the president also praised a local center that welcomes legal minors that identify as transgender.
"Elsewhere in Portland, The Q Center also provides several affinity and support groups and New Avenues for Youth offers a Sexual & Gender Minority Youth Resource Center (SGMYRC), a safe, harassment-free space for queer and trans youth ages 13-23."
After noting that the Queer Resource Center offers "many resources and opportunities to connect and show support" during all of this, the letter explained, "Cotton candy, temporary tattoos and coloring will be available. Please bring your PUS ID."
The College Fix offered a theory that it was not merely legislation in other states that drove this variety of trans events.
"Although the memo does not explicitly state it, the safe space is likely a response to a visit by free-thinking scholars and gender critical activists to debate the issue of giving children puberty blockers and other medical procedures at Portland State University," the outlet suggested.
It linked to a post written by Murph Murphy, the Director of Queer Student Services at PSU’s Queer Resource Center, warning, "We received word that some provocateurs with anti-gender affirming care viewpoints are coming to campus next week to instigate debate over access to gender affirming care for minors. As Queer and Trans members of the PSU community, we want to affirm, celebrate and uplift the gift, joy and power that is inherent to Trans folks and experiences of gender diversity."
The announcement warned, "The intention of provocateurs is not to invite productive dialogue. Their tactic is to provoke students, faculty and staff - record it and turn our community into clickbait material to be consumed by other folks with anti-Trans stances." It later observed that due to the First Amendment, "Legally, we cannot stop them. But we can ignore them and not give them what they want: a reaction from us and further polarization."
It appears some students took action, however. Philosopher and former PSU professor Peter Boghossian retweeted a photo of himself surrounded by activists and wrote, "Student activists at @Portland_State attempted to disrupt our public conversations today. I am genuinely embarrassed for the activists and disappointed that they prevented students with sincere objections from engaging us."
Fox News Digital reached out to PSU for comment.
"Portland State has always been and will continue to be a welcoming home for free speech and academic freedom. Vigorous debate is a key tenet of the academic enterprise and is highly valued and well protected," a spokesperson responded. "We believe that free speech and academic freedom are not in conflict with our core institutional values of student success; racial justice and equity; and proactive engagement with our community."
