University at Buffalo police disperse LGBTQ sit-in that commandeered student union room
An LGBTQ student group was recently removed from a student space it occupied in the student union after the school opened its own LGBTQ+ Center.
The group was told months ago by school officials that it would have to vacate in December, but police were forced to intervene after it refused to comply.
An LGBTQ student group was recently removed from a student space it attempted to commandeer through a sit-in.
The University at Buffalo’s LGBTA Club, which describes itself on Instagram as “Just gay little people doing gay little things,” had a standoff with university police after authorities attempted to remove the group from SU 373, a room in the Student Union.
The university had previously ended most student-operated spaces in the Student Union, but the LGBTA Club was allowed to remain. When the university opened its LGBTQ+ Center, however, it informed the club that it must vacate by December.
“At the beginning of the [sic] October, UB Student Union (SU) officials told us that the queer safe space in SU 373, which was established by an agreement with said officials, is going to be closed at the end of the month,” the group’s petition against the removal read.
A previous report from The Spectrum, the university’s student newspaper, seemed to dispute the existence of this written agreement, which supposedly took place between group leaders and school officials, saying, “The club doesn’t possess a copy of the agreement.”
The petition called the school’s decision “a massive blow to UB’s queer community,” and said that “folding student-led initiatives into the University administration’s operations only strips us of our already-limited freedom and puts queer students in danger, especially closeted students who might not want to take the risk of visiting UB’s resources, which are plainly visible to passers-by.”
The Student Association, UB’s student government, seemed to side with the club, passing a resolution affirming that it “commits to advocating for all students’ access to campus resources in a manner that upholds principles of equity, non-discrimination, and respect for diversity.”
A school official came to the room on Dec. 19 to remind club members that they needed to vacate by 5 p.m. When some students attempted to stage a sit-in, police arrived later in the evening to evict them.
The students attempted to hold the door closed, but police were eventually able to make entry and remove the students.
One of the students claimed the school has “nothing but contempt for the student population” and “queer people” and likened the situation to the school’s handling of pro-Palestine protests.
“The students were informed by staff of the university’s policy against camping,” a school official told The Spectrum. “University Police asked the students to leave the room and they did so peacefully.”
Students attempted to hold sit-in protests at several other institutions this year, with most of them occurring in reaction to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Campus Reform reported on one such protest at Swarthmore, which only lasted 11 hours after the school threatened protesters with suspension if they refused to disperse. New York University suspended 11 students who participated in a sit-in on its campus, according to another Campus Reform report.
The University at Buffalo and UB LGBTA have been contacted for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
