Pepperdine students sit in the Amphitheatre on Oct. 11, and listened to students speak about their experiences being LGBTQ+ at Pepperdine at the Strike Out Queerphobia Protest. The protest involved a walkout, said Danica Christy — Crossroads co-president and senior — and protested the Title IX exemption at some religious schools, allowing them to discriminate on the basis of sexuality. Photos courtesy of Danica Christy
Editor’s note: To protect the identity of a source the Graphic has used the pseudonym John Doe. Per PGM style, all sources are referred to with their preferred pronouns.
At 11 a.m., on Oct. 11, Pepperdine students walked out of their classrooms, made their way to the Amphitheatre and took part in the national Strike Out Queerphobia Protest.
The Black Menaces’ and the Religious Exemption Accountability Project organized the Strikeout Queerphobia Protest, said Stella Engel, junior Crossroads spiritual life chair and Graphic staff artist.
The walkout protested universities with a religious Title IX exemption, allowing them to legally discriminate against LGBTQ+ students while receiving federal funding and took place at over 50 campuses, said Danica Christy, Crossroads co-president and senior. Title IX prevents discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, according to the Department of Education.
Today, Pepperdine does not have a Title IX exemption, but had one from 1976 to 2016, according to past Graphic reporting. Christy said former President Andrew K. Benton revoked the exemption in 2016.
“We’re not going to be the first ones,” student John Doe said. “We’re not going to be the last. And so it’s like, as much as we thank the people that paved the way for us, we have to be the ones to further that so that we can make things more accessible and better for people in the future.”
The event began with a rally speech and then moved on to an open mic, where people could speak about their experiences, not necessarily at Pepperdine, but also at other religious institutions.
Oct. 11 is National Coming Out Day, and the speech mentioned this walkout was students “coming out against Queerphobia,” Engel said.
Event Organization
Christy said after Crossroads heard about the event, the organization reached out to their faculty adviser, Steve Rouse, and Intercultural Affairs to see if Crossroads could host the event. She said Crossroads had a clause in its constitution forbidding the club from making political statements.
Pepperdine removed the clause in 2020, according to past Graphic reporting.
“We still haven’t really done much politically since that,” Christy said. “And so I was just like, ‘Are we allowed to do a protest as a Crossroads event? Should we not, like how should we go forward with this?'”
Connie Horton, vice president for Student Affairs, attended the event and said a staff member from ICA told her about it.
“I care about all our students,” Horton said. “I like to attend events where I get to support our students and help them feel like we care about what they’re saying, and what they want the community to know. I want to know too.”
Attendance at the Protest
Christy said she has seen how Pepperdine has changed in the four years she has been at the University. In her first year, she said this event would not have been possible, due to the clause in the Crossroads Constitution. Additionally, Christy said she did not think if this protest happened her first year, there would be the same amount of support.
“A lot of students were saying I’ve had difficulties here but they were also surprised at the amount of community support that they received,” Christy said. “Because there definitely is Queerphobia on campus, but they’re also so many amazing members of faculty and staff and students that have supported them through that.”
Doe said he was originally on the fence about attending but went to the protest in support of a friend, who was uncomfortable walking out of a class alone. Doe said he spoke with the professor about leaving class to attend beforehand, who was curious about the protest.
Senior Juliet Johnson said she heard about the protest from the Crossroads email, social media and her theater professors who, while she said they did not force students, did encourage them to go. Though Johnson said she is grateful people came, she was hoping for more to attend.
“I think because the problem is less intense [at Pepperdine] people feel less obligated to protest it,” Johnson said.
Sophomore Cassandra Baron said she learned about the protest from Instagram and encouraged others to attend.
“I’m bisexual, and I go to a religious University,” Baron said. “And I’m really lucky that Pepperdine is inclusive and doesn’t discriminate against LGBTQ students or staff, but I wanted to stand up for other students.”
Senior Juliet Johnson helps hold up a flag at the Strike Out Queerphobia Protest on Oct. 11. Johnson said the knowledge these events are happening is reassuring to members of the LGBTQ+ community who might not feel comfortable attending.
There is no obligation to come to these events or for members of the community to label themselves, Johnson said.
“To know that those events are happening, feels good as somebody who might be in the closet or even just an ally,” Johnson said. “But then I would say also if you’re able to come, people are not [going to] assume you’re Queer. It’s like there are plenty of people who I know are allies there.”
Pepperdine’s Unique Position
Pepperdine acts as an in-between point for some students who may want to go to a more liberal school but have religious parents, Johnson said.
“A lot of us are coming to the school with religious trauma and with fear of our parents, our family, not supporting us and it’s like just to be able to be yourself in the space,” Johnson said. “I think that’s something that some people can’t understand, is that you cannot be yourself.”
Johnson said she wants to see more advertisement for events of this nature in the future and the removal of Pepperdine’s Sexual Relations Policy.
“Having that policy on our website is terrifying,” Johnson said.
Knowing there is a safe space at Pepperdine is very important, Johnson said.
“Because I think one, it saves lives, but two, it makes people’s lives so much better,” Johnson said.
Falon Barton, University Church of Christ campus minister, said this protest allowed students to both share their own experiences, and to stand in solidarity with LGBTQ+ students from other schools.
“For all of us, regardless of whether someone attended this particular protest or what they think about this particular protest, it is a reminder that our circumstances are shaped by the circumstances of other communities as well, like we are not totally isolated from other universities, other communities,” Barton said.
Faculty Experience
Barton said she primarily heard about the event from the Crossroads Instagram.
Barton said while some students may not have recognized her as a minister, she said she is thankful they welcomed her into the space — despite the role spiritual trauma might have played in their lives, as many mentioned during the open mic.
“I felt deep love for [students], and I felt hopeful for them as well, as I was listening to their stories, and I felt very grateful,” Barton said. “I also felt very grateful for their willingness to speak, for their courage and for the opportunity I had to hold that sacred space of them sharing about their own life experiences.”
Horton said she supports free speech rights and believes it is important for community members to show empathy toward one another.
“It’s good regardless of role here, for a student, for a faculty member or staff member or administrator to imagine being afraid to attend Pepperdine or what would it be like if you’re having trouble finding a church where you feel safe there, or a family who rejected me,” Horton said.
Horton said she wants struggling students to know there are resources on campus available to help them, such as faculty, the Hub for Spiritual Life, the Counseling Center and resilience coaches.
Speaking Out
The amount of students in pride memorabilia — out of 75 participants — stood out to Doe, because it is usually more subtle at Pepperdine, he said.
Along with being a part of the LGBTQ+ community, Doe said he is a member of other minority groups and wanted to speak about how far Pepperdine has come from the past, which he said events like the Strikeout Queerphobia Protest show.
“I’m not thrilled with the prospect that I kind of have to step up and be that representation,” Doe said. “But also knowing that, on some level, if you can be that representation, it’s like somewhere out there a person I don’t know might see that, like, ‘Hey, this person, that’s like me, is speaking out about their experience.’”
Doe said he thinks more events like the Strike Out Queerphobia Protest, with faculty and administration attending, will open Pepperdine up to more LGBTQ+ students and lead to less discrimination.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Baron said. “We’re here to stay and it’s going to keep growing and more people are going to continue to support.”
The goal going forward, Christy said, is for Crossroads and the LGBTQ+ community on campus to be as loud as it can be.
“Being Queer at a religious University, whether it’s Title IX exempt or not, is a controversial action,” Christy said. “I think it’s a political action to be gathering and to be celebrating our identities.”
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Contact Samantha Torre via Twitter (@Sam_t394) or email: sam.torre@pepperdine.edu
