On April 7, Aggravated students “upgraded” UNC Charlotte Chancellor Philip Dubois’ office with signs, in hopes that Dubois would agree to a set of demands regarding the House Bill 2, that was passed by the General Assembly on March 23.
The House Bill 2 also referred to as the “bathroom bill,” put a statewide policy in place that requires people to use the bathroom they are biologically assigned to according to their birth certificate. The law was passed after the Charlotte City Council passed an ordinance in February, requiring business owners to allow people to enter the bathroom with the gender they identify as.
The House Bill 2 also states cities cannot pass laws regarding the minimum wage. Such as raising minimum wage, a possibility Charlotte as a city had been working towards.
Graduate student Noe Pliego Campos describes these laws as “transphobic” and “anti-worker.”
“We feel that [Dubois] should have strongly spoken out against HB2, if you have that history,” said Campos.
The organizers of the protest collected around 50 signatures on their list of demands to Dubois in the Belk Plaza, before they marched to his office where they taped their signs to his door.
The demands insisted that Dubois not only publically denounce House Bill 2, but that he must also participate in a public forum about House Bill 2 created by students and community members.
“Hopefully, he responds to it and whatever way he responds to it, either by silence or by saying yes or no to the demands, will further demonstrate his stance on this issue,” said Campos.
The Office of Public Relations released a letter from Dubois regarding House Bill 2 on March 29, where Dubois admits to holding public comment as he awaits formal guidance regarding what the legislation means.
He wrote, “In the meantime, if you haven’t seen it, President Margaret Spellings issued the following statement last week shortly after passage of the legislation, a statement with which I concur.”
Spellings talks about the UNC System’s commitment to keeping campuses “welcoming and inclusive places.”
Spelling’s also states that they are carefully assessing the scope, reach and potential impact of the new law on the UNC system.
At the protest, Campos expressed concern that what Spellings was assessing was how House Bill 2 would affect funding for the UNC system. “We don’t think that’s what our leaders should be doing. They should be saying ‘No, this is wrong’,” said Campos.
On April 5, Spellings addresses the chancellors of the UNC System, about how the universities institutions must follow the House Bill 2 law.
On March 8, Dubois issued a statement saying, “I affirm that the University will not tolerate discrimination or harassment in its educational and employment decisions.”
He also notes that in 2014, UNC Charlotte began providing single-sex, gender-neutral restrooms across campus in an effort to make selecting a bathroom easier for transgender students.
“This statement for us means little when we consider the fact that trans people, in particular trans women of color, face high rates of violence for merely existing,” said Campos and protestor Alexander Jutlia in a joint-message.
A lot of universities across the state are also protesting the new law, including multiple sit-ins at schools like Appalachian State University and Duke University.