reported. Zelaya and Wilmot refused to remove their pronouns and were fired, several weeks before the semester’s conclusion.
Houghton University shuttered a multicultural student center approximately two years ago. The school no longer recognizes a student LGBTQ+ group as the club refused to push more conservative discourse on gender and sex, the Times reported. Neither Zelaya nor Wilmot identify as transgender. They said that their reasons for including pronouns in email signatures was due to their gender-neutral names – which has led to them being misgendered in written correspondence – as well as personal ethics.
A spokesperson for Houghton University said the school “has never terminated an employment relationship based solely on the use of pronouns in staff email signatures”.