Following the appointment of a Stonewall leader who turned on the organization as rector, Edinburgh University is engulfed in controversy.
After being elected without opposition, Simon Fanshawe, a former actor who contributed to the founding of the LGBT organization in 1989, may assume the position the following month.
However, faculty members and students have demanded that his appointment be blocked, despite the fact that it was warmly welcomed by an educational organization established to advocate for free speech on campus in the wake of a number of culture wars.
Mr. Fanshawe signed an open letter in 2019 accusing Stonewall of “undermining” “women’s sex-based rights and protections” and “demonizing” people who disagreed with its sex policies as misogynistic.”
Trans rights activists are urging the college to rescind the appointment and replace it with “a real advocate of equality, accessibility, diversity, and inclusion” in an open letter.
According to them, Mr. Fanshawe’s selection “creates a hostile environment for the many transgender, non-binary, and gender-non-conforming individuals studying at the university.”
University researcher Gina Gwenffrewi, who holds a PhD in trans studies, made an effort to connect the movement to Brianna Ghey’s death.
The University of Edinburgh has announced that its new Rector is a leader of the LGB Alliance, ten days after the verdict at the trial of Brianna Ghey’s killers determined that stigmatization contributed to the death.
This appointment did not appear to be an election. It is difficult to put into words the indifference of such an interview when the transgender community is still traumatized and susceptible to rising hate crimes.
“This is an outrageous statement of disdain for transgender people made by the University of Edinburgh.”
Last year, the school experienced a number of on-campus conflicts over culture.
Mr. Fanshawe has backed the LGB Alliance and spoken at its meetings despite not being a co-founder of the organization, which was founded by two lesbians and is critical of trans philosophy.
Mr. Fanshawe, who is currently employed as a diversity analyst, has an “excellent history of supporting gay and lesbian rights,” according to Jonathan MacBride of the school and an agent at its staff satisfaction network.
But he continued, “He speaks negatively and only excessively about transgender people to me and some people I know. That the University of Edinburgh feels that this is an ideal candidate to serve as our rector is troubling.
After protests nearly prevented the showing of the movie Child Human Female about the conflict between transgender and women’s rights, which some claimed was misogynistic, the University of Edinburgh was engulfed in controversy last month.
At the second attempt, a screening was successful despite opposition from about 100 people.
The position of Rector at the school was once held by Winston Churchill and dates back to 1859. The position’s recipients currently oversee the school court and are tasked with expressing the opinions of staff and students.
In response to criticism of his visit, Mr. Fanshawe offered to meet with unhappy people. He won the Perrier Award for Comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe the same year he founded Stonewall.
“I am honored and delighted to have been appointed Rector,” he declared. “I’ll exert every effort to promote the college, its faculty, students, and courage in intellectual exchange.”
“We look forward to working with Simon as the University of Edinburgh’s new rector,” said Leigh Chalmers, vice-principal and director.
