Students, Faculty Protest St. Norbert College’s Change to Regressive Gender Policy

St. Norbert College, a Catholic liberal arts school in De Pere, Wisconsin, has changed its gender policy to recognize only two genders, male and female, according to The Green Bay Press Gazette.

The new policy aligns with recent guidelines issued by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in the declaration Dignitas Infinita, which reaffirmed the church’s opposition to gender-affirming care and diverse gender identities, by insisting gender is based solely on a person’s sex assigned at birth.

In an email to faculty and staff, St. Norbert administrators said the school would update language in the coming months on various college materials, including enrollment applications, forms, and the college’s website.

Students and faculty alike are protesting the change. Gracelyn Giese, a senior minoring in women and gender studies, said that the new change entirely contradicts what she has been taught in her classes. Giese is also worried about what it means for the future of the women and gender studies program, though the administration says that it is not at risk.

“What’s going to happen to this entire department if the school is saying that they’re following the new Catholic interpretation and belief system of there’s only two, there’s only two genders? That goes against what some of my classes for the past 3½ years have been teaching and have been discussing,” said Giese.

In a statement, Joe Webb, vice president for Student Affairs, said that the change will not impact curriculum or make the campus a less accepting place.

“Inclusivity is one of our college’s core values; it is at the heart of who we are. This is simply the college aligning its gender identity language and policies with the principles recently set forth by the Catholic church. All services and benefits for all students, faculty and staff remain intact,” Webb wrote in a statement to the Press-Gazette on the policy change.

“There are no plans to change any curriculum or teaching practices based on this alignment. This alignment in no way changes the college’s ongoing commitment to creating a safe and supportive community where every individual is deeply respected.”

Another senior, Kayla Clark, pointed out that no longer recognizing trans and nonbinary students seems completely opposed to the concept of human dignity, the topic of Dignitas Infinita. 

“You don’t even have the option to check a little box anymore. How is that going to affect these students? It’s going to be catastrophic. They’re completely erasing the human dignity of the person by not giving them the freedom to express who they are,” Clark said.

Beyond the wellbeing of trans and nonbinary students, the future of St. Norbert College is also at stake, as the college’s decision has alienated so much of its student body, which was already shrinking.

Faculty told The Green Bay Press Gazette that the decision may impact enrollment because the change is a large shift from what many college students believe. They fear students might not choose St. Norbert because of the lack of acceptance.

Around 70% of St. Norbert students identify as religious; 41% of those are Catholic. The school is facing financial difficulties, and last year, cut positions like the director of multicultural student services.

This is not the first time students and faculty alike have disagreed with St. Norbert’s handling of LGBTQ+ issues.

Back in 2012, around 75% of the faculty and students wore rainbow ribbons at commencement as a sign of protest against the school choosing the late LGBTQ-negative prelate, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, as the college’s commencement speaker. George faced condemnation earlier that year after comparing the LGBTQ+ rights movement to the Ku Klux Klan.

In 2022, LGBTQ+ students and allies protested the administration’s decision to change the theme of a “Mass Celebrating Solidarity” that the campus LGBTQ+ alliance had organized during Coming Out Week. The administration stated that the theme of the event was not congruent with Catholic teaching.

The administration of St. Norbert seem to be in disagreement with the faculty and student body of the school—and it is hurting them. While the school continues to face financial strains and is forced to cut staff, they would be wise to listen to students worried about the acceptance of themselves or their fellow queer students.

—Elsie Carson-Holt (she/her), November 4, 2024