Point Park University pronoun policy getting national attention on social media

PITTSBURGH — A policy at Point Park University regarding misgendering and pronoun misuse is receiving national attention.

The policy, which university officials say has been in place since 2014, was recently publicized on a site called Campus Reform.

The site published a portion of an email sent by university leaders to students, stating in part that “any individual who has been informed of another person’s gender identity, pronouns or chosen name is expected to respect that individual” and “action could be taken if a complaint is filed.”

A university spokesperson authenticated what was published but declined to forward Channel 11 the email sent to students in its entirety and declined an on-camera interview.

The article published by Campus Reform quotes students who oppose the policy. However, the students we spoke with on campus Friday all said they largely support it.

“A person should be able to identify as whatever they want and it should be respected, it shouldn’t be a problem,” said Wells-Anderson.

“I think that people should respect other people even if you don’t particularly agree,” said freshman Emmett Lombardi.

One sophomore told Channel 11 he believes it’s “important to be polite to everyone and I think it is wrong to blatantly disrespect.” He and another student did however note that accidental misgendering should not be disciplined.

“If you accidentally say the wrong thing and someone takes it as you’re trying to offend them, I think that could get like a sticky situation,” the sophomore said.

A university spokesperson did however tell Channel 11 that the “protections refer to intentional misgendering.” We asked what sort of action could be taken against an individual who disobeys the policy, and were told the situation would be handled on a “case-by-case basis.”

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