Students gather in front of Painted Tree (pictured above) in support of Black Lives Matter, pro-choice, and LGBTQ+ movements. (Photo Courtesy of Katherine Rodgers)
CORRECTION 4/7/21, 1:31 PM: Previously this article indicated that Stevens’ had claimed responsibility for both “repaintings” of the tree, when he has only claimed responsibility for the second repainting.
Note: This is a developing story. This article is broken up into four sections to relay the entire scope of the ongoing issues between students, SUNY Geneseo Administration, The Ella Cline Shear School of Education, and history adolescent education major senior Owen Stevens, since Nov. 2020.
Content warning: In reference to Stevens’ social media posts, The Lamron has linked the Instagram posts for readers reference. The photos and videos share Stevens’ perspectives that may be offensive to some viewers, in regard to his alignments that denounce pro-choice and Black Lives Matter movements, as well as free gender expression on behalf of those who identify as transgender.
At some point overnight on Nov. 18, 2020, the Painted or “Greek” tree in Sturges Quad and a rock across from Steuben Hall, both decorated with murals tributing the Black Lives Matter movement, were repainted in red, white and blue paint, with the messages “God Bless America” and “USA.”
The repainting of the tree and rock incited speculation among students, and many believed that history adolescent education major senior Owen Stevens was responsible because of his conservative social media presence. The paintings speculated to be done by Stevens’ were again painted over for BLM later that day by students.
The attention that Stevens’ Instagram account received in response to the painted tree speculation invited critique from the Geneseo community of Stevens’ photos and videos.
Stevens’ expression of free speech on social media was deemed threatening by the College to the transgender community in a professional and educational manner, prompting the Ella Cline Shear School of Education to temporarily suspend Stevens’ from participating in classroom field work in late Janurary, citing the college’s doctrine of inclusivity and the New York State Dignity for All Students Act (DASA).
Despite no change in his social media presence, Stevens was reinstated to participate in primary education field visits on March 17.
On April 1, the tree in Sturges Quad, again painted with artwork tributing the Black Lives Matter movement, was overlaid in red, white and blue paint, with writings of “USA.” It was also documented that there was writings endorsing pro-life perspectives painted the tree.
Early that morning, around 1 a.m., Stevens shared a post to his Instagram where he is seen standing next to the repainted, patriotic tree. Stevens has unofficially taken responsibility for the tree’s repainting at this time in his communication with other students and the media.
The repainting of the tree and the rock in November 2020
The patriotic display on the tree and rock on Nov. 18 stirred campus-wide discussion among students, inspiring those who found the repainting of the tree to be a hateful act, to organize a protest.
Attention was directed to Stevens in response to student speculation that he had painted over the Black Lives Matter artwork with patriotic phrases and colors. Students cited his social media presence that hosts many photos and videos expressing his personal alignment with conservative ideology.
On his Instagram account, Stevens posted a video only a few days prior to the repainting, captioning the post that he had encountered some “Black Lives Matter protesters that hate America'' at a rally for former President Donald Trump. This post, among others, furthered students’ beliefs that Stevens was motivated to paint over the BLM artwork.
Stevens said in an interview that he had not painted over the tree nor the rock. He mentioned that “eight” other sources reached out to him for comment, all under the impression that he had taken responsibility for the patriotic paintings. The Lamron was among those media outlets under this impression while interviewing Stevens.
It was recently confirmed by Livingston County News reporter Matt Leader in a Tweet posted on April 1 that, while Stevens denied to the media that he painted the tree in Nov., he claimed responsibility for the most recent repainting.
“I assume people think I’m responsible for [the repainting] because I post conservative videos on my Instagram,” Stevens said. “I have received like five or six death threats. I’m getting a lot of hate, but you know, I don’t believe in hate speech … I don’t give a crap about hate speech.”
Stevens continued to state that he felt no particular way about the tree’s and rock’s repainting, and if anything, he supports and encourages patriotic symbolism and expressing love for one's country.
On Nov. 20, about 500 students gathered on the college’s green for a Black Lives Matter protest in response to the repaintings, most of which were wearing masks and abiding by social distancing laws.
“I'm not certain why there was a protest,” Stevens said. “What are they protesting? Is there a group that is saying Black lives don't matter? I don't think so. I mean that the implication of Black Lives Matter is that there’s a group saying that Black lives don’t matter. I’m not aware or a part of that group, and that group exists.”
This demonstration was organized by communication major sophomore Tori Tripp and other students in response to Stevens’ painting over what was previously painted to memorialize the lives of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
“When I saw that the tree and rock were painted over, I felt that it was a direct attack on the BLM messages painted prior,” Tripp said. “This was just my personal reaction, but I honestly felt unsafe. I participated in organizing this event because I realized we’re not going to feel safe here unless we incite real change.”
According to Geneseo’s organization handbook, the painting of the tree and rock is not regulated by the College, and any student or student organization is entitled to paint either to engage with the tradition. The expectation of students and student organizations is that they “respect the rights of others to paint the tree” and “not prohibit others from painting the tree,” as outlined in the handbook.
Emails were sent to the campus community on Nov. 20 in support of the protest from President Denise Battles, condemning the “destruction” of the artworks as “painful and harmful to our community, most especially our BIPOC (Black, indigenous, and people of color) members.”
“I think [Battles] referred to [the painting] as painful and harmful in her email. When I saw the tree and the rock, I didn’t think it was anything even remotely close to painful or harmful to the community. How is it harmful to have patriotic symbolism that says ‘God Bless America’ when the paintings happened around Veterans Day,” Stevens said.
Stevens said that his social media is an expression of his free speech. He expressed his feeling that if he posts something conservative on Instagram, he is called “racist, sexist, homophonic, transphobic, islamapobic,” etc., but does not formally associate with any of these ideologies.
In a campus wide email from the Office of the President sent on Nov. 23, Battles acknowledges her recent awareness of a “current student’s Instagram posts pertaining to transgender people.” She mentions her personal commitment to promoting social justice, and denounces any of these posts as a declaration of support for the trans community.
“As we have expressed previously, and relevant to recent events on our campus, there are clear legal limitations to what a public university can do in response to objectionable speech. As a result, there are few tools at our disposal to reduce the pain that such speech may cause,” Battles said in her email to students and faculty.
Since the tree’s repainting in Nov. which Stevens recently claimed responsibility for, the College commissioned a sign to be placed adjacent. The sign calls the “Painted or Greek tree” an “ever-changing” expression of student-created art for community engagement and organizational promotion.
Stevens temporarily suspended from field work by the School of Education in January, claims “dismissal from the College” on social media
On Jan. 21, Stevens shared to his Instagram a post that appears to be a screenshotted portion of an email from an unknown sender, presumably a representative from the Ella Cline Shear School of Education. He claims to have been, as written in his caption, “dismissed” from the college, because of his social media presence.
Stevens declined to comment with The Lamron directly when sought multiple times for an interview in Feb., and refused to provide The Lamron with any documentation of his suspension notice or any communications with the School of Education. He asked that media inquiry efforts be directed to an article published by The Daily Wire on Feb. 25. All references of such are according to The Daily Wire’s report.
The suspension notice was sent by the Interim Dean of the School of Education Dennis Showers. In the notice reported by The Daily Wire, Showers claimed that Stevens’ public position found on social media conflicts with the college’s doctrine of inclusivity and the Dignity for All Students Act.
Showers declined to comment on Stevens’ situation when contacted for an interview by The Lamron.
In his notice, Showers cites that Stevens’ ability to “maintain a classroom environment protecting the mental and emotional well-being of all of [his] students” was in question because of Stevens’ public commentary on Instagram directed as certain minority groups.
“After review of all available materials, I find that, based on your continued public stance and social media presence, you do not consistently demonstrate behaviors required by the Conceptual Framework of the School of Education,” Showers said in an email to Stevens, according to The Daily Wire.
The email posted by Stevens’ cites Instagram posts beginning in early Dec., where Stevens is “dismissive and insulting” to those whose gender identity is different from their biological sex and to those who celebrate cultural perspectives other than his own.
It is unclear exactly how many of Stevens' posts were cited as evidence of “negative and disrespectful comments and attitudes with whom [the college] work” in the email, since only a portion is posted, but there is reference of attached transcripts of the sources and “multiple other examples,” among the two visible.
The first reference of Stevens’ social media platform in the email refers to a video posted to Instagram on Nov. 22. In the video, Stevens’ calls those struggling with their sexual or gender identity “mentally ill.” The email criticizes that this post demonstrates Stevens’ “contempt for such individuals.”
Only a portion of the second example is visible in Stevens' post before it cuts off. The sender cites a video where Stevens is “contemptuous towards others’ cultural perspectives.” In the video, Stevens advocates for the celebration of Columbus Day, a holiday recognized by the District of Columbia as Indigenous Peoples Day since 2019, because “[the holiday] isn’t about oppression.”
Stevens’ claimed on social media that he was “dismissed” from the college entirely. Yet, according to the suspension notice obtained by The Daily Wire from Stevens himself, the School of Education notified Stevens that he was temporarily suspended from participating in in-school field experiences and courses that require field work until he completed an intervention plan.
The email shared to social media communicated to Stevens that after meeting with him on Dec. 15, 2020 and reviewing his Instagram posts, the unknown college faculty member deemed that he did not demonstrate “respect for the inherent dignity and worth of individuals whose identity or culture falls outside of his own narrow view of accepted norms” on his social media, and his case will be submitted for “Level Three consideration.”
Level Three consideration is part of the School of Education’s Dispositions Policy, which is a three-tiered system in place to outline the procedures that should be followed for different levels of disposition concerns. A Level Three Disposition intervention is the most severe of the three levels.
Stevens’ suspension from field experiences from the School of Education which was likely the result of a Level Three Dispositions intervention.
The Dispositions Policy is defined by the School of Education as “manifestations of values, commitments and ethics in professional practice. It is therefore the responsibility of members of the educational community to continuously monitor academic progress and dispositions of teacher candidates,” according to the policy.
This same document explains that early concerns relating to dispositions will result in feedback given to the student from faculty and staff, and “that persistent and unaddressed issues may result in a formal referral/intervention request on the part of a faculty or staff member.”
The document lists different examples of behaviors that could lead to intervention, in both on and off-campus settings. Many of the examples are relevant to Stevens’ behavior in regard to his violation of the College’s Code of Conduct, which includes “verbal intimidation or discrimination towards children, faculty, staff, and/or fellow college students,” which can be considered harassment.
The document also includes a statement on social media, asserting that “online activity should be professional and adhere to the highest standards of conduct as well as to those represented in the attached professional dispositions,” going on to say that education students should “restrict online interactions with P-12 learners.”
Stevens’ social media was cited as the major concern for his disposition intervention. A video that was posted and deleted from Stevens’ Instagram showed him asking elementary school aged children to say comments that implied gender was the same as biological sex. The deleted video was documented by The Lamron and is shown below.
Level Three is the most severe intervention, and the intervention in which Stevens’ case was submitted through, according to the email shared on his Instagram.
This process dictates that the student will need to meet with the Dispositional Review Committee and explain the behavior in question. This committee, composed of three members elected by the faculty or staff in the School of Education, reviews the case and decides to either develop or modify an intervention plan, place the student on probation, or recommend the student’s dismissal from the School of Education entirely. This recommendation is sent to the Dean of the School of Education for a final decision, and a copy is also sent to the Provost.
Depending on the severity of the behavior in question, interventions can move directly to level Two or Three, skipping level One. According to the document, examples of when this would occur are when dealing with “behaviors that place the physical or psychological health and safety of children or adolescents at risk, behaviors that violate existing policies of the College or the clinical placement, or behaviors that are illegal could necessitate a candidate being assigned to a particular level from the outset.” It is unclear whether or not Stevens' behavior was severe enough to prompt this.
This policy empowers the Director of Field Experiences as well as the Dean of Education to exclude the student from field experiences, such as student teaching, during the review and appeal process.
All students studying at the School of Education sign a Statement of Commitment Regarding Dispositions. This document outlines four sections of Dispositions that the student agrees to follow.
As a student of the School of Education, Stevens would have been required to sign this contract prior to taking courses in the second block of his major. This would allow for a Level Three disposition intervention to take place, as the School of Education felt his Instagram posts contradict College policies and state law. Stevens was suspended pending his completion of an intervention plan.
The sections of the Dispositions Commitment summarize that students in the School of Education must take responsibility to understand “individual differences, diverse cultures, and communities to plan responsive instruction” to treat all learners with equal dignity and respect. The document notes that students must acknowledge the role of “race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, language, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, (dis)ability, and class” to respect the individual differences of all learerns.
It is specifically indicated that the school’s students are expected to “understand and comply with policies at the local, state, and national level.” Candidates are specifically expected to “demonstrate an understanding of professional expectations including adherence to professional codes of ethics, professional standards of practice, and relevant law and policy.”
If Stevens signed the Statement of Commitment, which would have been required for him to do any fieldwork, he agreed that he would need to be in accordance with the Dispositions policy outlined above to complete his Education major.
According to Showers, Stevens’ online posts contradicted DASA’s protections to students in public schools, specifically mentioning statements made by Stevens about people who identify as transgender and celebrate cultures other than those he believes are deserving.
“You continue to maintain, ‘I do not recognize the gender that they claim to be if they are not biologically that gender. This public position is in conflict with the Dignity for All Students Act requiring teachers to maintain a classroom environment protecting the mental and emotional well-being of all students,” Showers said in the copy of Stevens suspension notice reported by The Daily Wire.
Signed into law in Sept. 2010 and enacted in July 2012, DASA states that “no student shall be subjected to harassment or bullying by employees or students on school property or at a school function; nor shall any student be subjected to discrimination based on a person’s actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender, or sex by school employees or students on school property or at a school function.” Such bullying and harassment extends to online mediums such as social media where, in 2012, the act was amended to include cyberbullying to its list of possible methods to bully or harass a student.
In doing this, the legislature stated that they “recognize[d] that most cyberbullying originates off-campus, but nonetheless affects the school environment and disrupts the educational process, impeding the ability of students to learn and too often causing devastating effects on students’ health and well-being.” Thus, even the online presence of a school’s employees and its students can be scrutinized under DASA.
In July 2015, the New York State Education Department released a document meant to provide guidance to public schools emphasizing the state’s commitment to ensuring safety to all public school students, including those transgender and gender noncomforming students, with an educational experience free from harassment and discrimination from opportunities. The document reinforces both the federal definition of “gender” at the state level, defined not by assigned gender at birth, but by an individual's gender expression and gender identity, as well as the protections already afforded to students under DASA.
The document notes that it and the protections afforded under the DASA legislation are meant to curb the harassment and bullying suffered by those who identify as transgender and gender noncomforming. It states that “these students, because of the possibility of misunderstanding and lack of knowledge about their lives, may be at a higher risk for peer ostracism, victimization, and bullying” and emphasizes that “educators play an essential role in advocating for the well-being of students and creating a supportive school culture.”
Stevens’ suspension was pending upon his completion of a “remediation plan,” which would serve to educate him on the importance of inclusivity in the classroom, as well as gender identity and expression. In his interview with The Daily Wire, Stevens calls the remediation plan “re-education” training.
The plan is outlined in the suspension notice reported by The Daily Wire and includes taking down his Instagram videos, becoming more aware of how his online presence can be harmful to others and posting accordingly, specifically members of the LGBTQ+ community, and attending school-sanctioned training that promote Geneseo’s definition of inclusivity: the “fostering [of] a diverse campus community marked by mutual respect for the unique talents and contributions of each individual.”
Stevens said that he refused to conform and or participate with the requirements necessary to end his suspension, in his interview with The Daily Wire.
Stevens reinstated to the School of Education to participate in field-visits on March 17
According to a subsequent article published by The Daily Wire, Stevens was reinstated from his suspension to participate in field work within the School of Education on March 17.
Stevens maintained his right to decline to be interviewed with The Lamron when sought for comment regarding recent updates on his suspension in March. The media inquiry efforts made on behalf of The Lamron were again redirected by Stevens to The Daily Wire and an article published by Breitbart.
According to Breitbart and The Daily Wire, Stevens was reinstated from his suspension by Associate Provost for Academic Success Joseph Cope.
When sought for comment by The Lamron, Cope declined, citing legal regulations associated with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
Stevens’ reinstatement is dependent upon his review of the state’s “Guidance to School Districts for Creating a Safe and Supportive School Environment for Transgender and Gender Noncomforting students” documents and his ability to “self-monitor” his social media posts to “ensure that he presents himself in a professional matter,” according to the reinstatement documents presented to The Daily Wire from Stevens.
Stevens told The Daily Wire that he plans on taking legal action against the school for infringing on his first amendment rights, regardless of the suspension lift.
“This is a huge victory for us … but we need to push back so that destructive policies leave our universities,” Stevens said in his interview with The Daily Wire. “We are still planning legal action … The much larger issue is that the university will almost always back down in the face of negative media attention. Going the legal route will provide legal precedent in order to challenge their policies in court.”
It is unclear as to whether or not Stevens reconsidered participation in or completed the school-sanctioned training portion of the remediation plan to prompt his reinstatement.
According to The Daily Wire, alongside the school-sanctioned training, Stevens was required to “take down his Instagram videos” and “tone down his social media presence” in order to proceed with reinstatement.
The documentation of Stevens’ previously posted videos and the monitoring of his social media presence conducted by The Lamron reasonably concludes that Stevens failed to do either of these requirements to justify reinstatement.
In a recent post to his Instagram page made on March 8, Stevens shared a of video of him sitting in his car, where he tells his followers his feelings about International Womens Day, proposing a change in the globally celebrated holiday to be recognized as “international real womens day” or “international biological womens day,” with an emphasis on “real,” to suggest that transgender individuals are not “real” women because their gender identity and expression does not align with their biological sex.
“If we just called it International Women’s Day, then it’s basically a holiday that I could celebrate too if I identified as a woman,” Stevens said in the video posted to Instagram. “The problem with this cultural shift is that everybody could be a woman, and all you have to do is think it.”
In an earlier post from Feb. 27, Stevens shares with his followers his feelings about pronouns in what he calls a “science update” video.
“As of now, and as of all of human history, there have been two genders—man and woman. In the English language, we have pronouns, which we associate with man or woman—he for a guy, and she for a girl. It’s not going to change. I’m not going to use ‘ze’ or ‘zer’ or some other made up crap made up by some political ‘ideolog’ whose only interest in advancing a political activist agenda,” Stevens said in the video posted on his Instagram.
Stevens’ social media presence continues to maintain that he does not recognize the differences between biological sex and gender expression and identity. His public position is still in conflict with DASA and the College's doctrine of inclusivity, despite his reinstatement to participate in in-school field experiences and courses that require field work through the School of Education. There is no evidence to suggest that Stevens completed any portion of the remediation plan to prompt his reinstatement.
Amidst his reinstatement, Stevens' social media presence has grown to attract an even larger audience, demonstrated by the engagement with a recent post, amassing 837 comments at the time this article reached publication.
Additionally, Stevens’ notoriety has even garnered attention in the form of an online petition created by a group called TFP Student Action, a project of “The Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property” that describes itself as a group that was created to counter “liberal, socialist and communist trends of the times and proudly affirm the positive values of tradition, family and private property.”
The petition, which has accumulated nearly 20,000 signatures, describes itself as a peaceful protest and argues that Stevens’ original suspension “sound[ed] like something right out of a communist gulag, not USA” and further elaborated that “What happened to Owen Stevens … is not merely an attack on truth, or on free speech, it is an attack against reality itself.”
The repainting of the tree on April 1
Stevens shared a post to his Instagram on April 1 around 1 a.m. The photo depicts Stevens standing to the right of the painted tree in Sturges Quad, decorated in the colors of the American flag. Among a red background, the phrase “USA'' is written in light and dark blue paint. With the hashtag, #freespeech, among others, he tagged the official @sunygeneseo Instagram page in the post.
The tree speculated to be repainted by Stevens most recently was, again, initially decorated with phrases and symbols associated with the Black Lives Matter movement, mirroring the incident in Nov. 2020. In the most recent repainting, there were mentions of pro-life sentiments on the trunk of the tree amongst the patriotic display.
The Lamron sought comment from Battles through communication with the Director of Media Relations Monique Patenaude. Patenaude said that at this time, the College “defers to the message President Battles sent to the campus community this morning regarding the painted tree.”
In her email to the campus community on April 1, Battles acknowledges that the administration is aware that the tree in Sturges Quad was repainted sometime overnight.
“We understand that this action prompts a variety of reactions among our community members,” she said.
Following this, Battles said that earlier this semester, she tasked a committee with student representation to revisit the existing College policy of the painted tree. According to College policy, Geneseo does not regulate the tree and rock’s painting.
“[The committee] is developing recommendations and those are due imminently,” Battles said in her campus-wide email. “We eagerly await the committee’s findings as we seek to support our community in the best way possible.”
Around 12 p.m., a group of about 20 students gathered to paint over the American-colored paint with black paint to represent their commitment to the Black Lives Matter movement.
“We woke up to find that the tree was painted with different USA chants,” English adolescent education major freshman Juslannie Rosso said. “Right away, myself and a group of minority students came to paint the tree a solid color. As a minority student, tensions are definitely high. None of us have any interest in painting the tree for BLM after this incident … We don’t want any more disrespect.”
Rosso said that because of Stevens' previous social media representation and his most recent post with the repainted tree, she is confident that Stevens is the individual, or at least one of the individuals, who painted the tree sometime in the early hours of April 1.
“I didn’t come here out of anger … I’ve been standing out here for about an hour and [Stevens] has just been walking around trying to antagonize the group of us. He said to me and my friends, ‘Oh, you didn’t like my artwork? No worries, I’ll be back.’ I have no motivation to engage with him. For me, I am just here to answer any questions that people have ... I want to make sure other students are well informed about what's going on,” Rosso said.
Rosso said that some of the others she gathered with did engage with Stevens, and it was a “disheartening” discourse justified by freedom of speech. She expressed that overall, her frustrations are directed towards the School of Education and their failure to educate Stevens or remove him from the College.
From around 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Stevens was seen walking around the Sturges Quad and Union, according to corroborating student witnesses. When sought for comment, a friend of Stevens standing next to him was screaming sexual obscenities, making the interview with Stevens difficult to decipher.
“You probably already know my name and I am not interested in giving a full statement,” Stevens said. “What I will say ... is that all students should speak their minds and universities are a marketplace of ideas and not an assembly line for one type of thought. They should spend more time educating future world leaders and not policing speech on social media or on campus.”
Stevens went on to say that everybody has the right to speak their mind in this world, especially in America. If this right is revoked, Stevens said he believes that society is falling very short of what the United States was founded on. He concluded to say that even if an individual’s communication is “hateful” or “gross,” he fully supports the expression of all free speech.
When explicitly asked by The Lamron if Stevens was responsible for the tree’s repainting, he only spoke to his feelings about the nature of a College being a “marketplace for ideas.” Stevens also echoed this sentiment with a reporter from the Livingston County News, according to Twitter.
Another member of the gathered crowd who identifies as transgender asked to remian anonymous in publication and will be reffered to as Source One.
“I woke up, saw the email and walked here by myself,” Source One said. “I’m here to show my support for the minority communities at this College in yet another instance where we have to be scared. I am horrified that I go to school with somebody who believes that trans people don’t exist … I exist, I’m real. I am standing here. I am what I am, and it shouldn’t matter.”
Source One said that they don’t care if Stevens agrees with the way that they identify. Their main concerns are directed at the College’s administrative staff for allowing the repainting of the tree over a Black Lives Matter tribute to happen “not once, but twice,” they said.
Stevens was met with ridicule and conflict while walking around campus from other students in response to his Instagram post of the recent repainting of the tree, which alleged many students to believe he was responsible. Geneseo Chief of Univeristy Police Christopher Prusack confirmed that UPD officers responded to diffuse conflict at Starbucks and the painted tree on the afternoon of April 1.
While seen around campus on April 1, Stevens also posted a video on Instagram where he said he had an idea that had come to him “from the lord” that morning. He said in the video that he plans to start his own school district called “The American School District,” with an elementary, middle, and highschool.
According to the video, Stevens claims that schools have become “liberal indoctrination camps.” His reasoning is that he finds it problematic that schools teach “anti-racism, white hate, white privilege and socialism” and that “these terrible ideas are going to destroy the nation and turn terrible civilians out.”
The next day, on April 2, Battles sent another email to the student body that outlined the administration’s plans regarding the painted tree and rock.
In the email, Battles indicated that the administration was going to “place a temporary moratorium on painting the tree in Sturges Quad and the rock on north campus.”
According to Battles’ email, both the tree and rock will be roped off and painted with neutral colors and a sign will be placed in the area that will say “We are here to listen, to learn, to teach, to debate, to change, to grow. We should all be safe to pursue these goals at SUNY Geneseo while being who we are. Together, we commit ourselves to pluralism, cultivating a community that respects difference and promotes a sense of inclusion and belonging.”
The Lamron acknowledges how strongly the student community feels in regard to the College’s handling of Stevens’, specifically those belonging to the BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities. We encourage those with outstanding emotions to contact President Denise Battles, battles@geneseo.edu, Dean of Students Leonard Sancillio, sancillio@geneseo.edu and Interim Dean of the School of Education Dennis Showers, showers@geneseo.edu to express their uncomfort or dissent. For those feeling unsafe at this time, we encourage you to email Chief Diversity Officer, robbie routenberg, routenberg@geneseo.edu or Coordinator of LGBTQ+ programs and services Charlotte Wade, cwade@geneseo.edu.
Staff writer Sarah Sharples contributed reporting for this article.