A university is offering its pro-LGBT students cotton candy, coloring pages, and temporary tattoos to soothe their anxiety.
Portland State University will offer students the freebies to celebrate trans-identifying students amid mounting “anti-trans bills in legislatures across the country,” according to a memo from President Stephen Percy.
At least 10 states now have laws limiting gender surgeries for children, and most of those states also limit cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers for children.
“Many loud voices have made no secret of their desire to target trans, non-binary and gender diverse people,” Percy wrote.
The university pledges to provide a “safe space for all members of the LGBTQAI+ community,” the memo said.
“We recognize the toll this campaign, and the media that surrounds it, has on the queer and trans members of our community along with their family and friends,” the university president wrote.
Portland State University President Stephen Percy indicates there will be no criticism of trans ideology allowed on campus.
Instead, "cotton candy, temporary tattoos, and coloring will be available" and expanded "Trans Days of Resistance" scheduled. pic.twitter.com/EmTGIWWbF3
— Michael Weingrad (@weingradmichael) April 29, 2023
The treats will be available at the school’s Queer Resource Center when it hosts a “Trans and Gender Expansive Celebration and Community Hour” every weekday from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. for a week.
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The Queer Resource Center also hosts a “trans social space” called “T-time” every Friday from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The university’s efforts to comfort pro-LGBT students came just as Peter Boghossian, a former Portland State University philosophy professor, was visiting campus to discuss with students whether children can consent to puberty blockers.
Back in 2021, Boghossian resigned from the university after teaching there for a decade, saying the school has made “intellectual exploration impossible.”
When he resigned, Boghossian said Portland State University has “transformed a bastion of free inquiry into a Social Justice factory whose only inputs were race, gender, and victimhood and whose only outputs were grievance and division.”
On Thursday, Boghossian tweeted that student activists attempted to disrupt his conversations with other students, adding that he is “embarrassed” for them.
He also tweeted a meme mocking the university offering cotton candy, temporary tattoos, and coloring pages to students.
Student activists at @Portland_State
attempted to disrupt our public conversations today. I am genuinely embarrassed for the activists and disappointed that they prevented students with sincere objections from engaging us. https://t.co/QZHxIMiudj— Peter Boghossian (@peterboghossian) May 4, 2023
— Peter Boghossian (@peterboghossian) May 2, 2023
The school’s Queer Resource Center also sent out a memo warning about the “provocateurs” coming to campus and advising students to “ignore and disengage.”
“The intention of provocateurs is not to invite productive dialogue,” the Queer Resource Center’s memo warned. “Their tactic is to provoke students, faculty and staff – record it and turn our community into clickbait material to be consumed by other folks with anti-Trans stances.”
“Legally, we cannot stop them,” the memo added.
The memo encouraged people to come to the Queer Resource Center to enjoy the treats and make crafts. The message also encouraged people to “wear masks as an act of community care when not eating or drinking.”
In one clip from Boghossian’s visit, a man yells at him and tells him to go “play in the freeway.”
“The world is better off with you pieces of s*** out of it,” the man says.
Asked to give an argument in favor of gender surgeries for children, the man responds, “No, shut the f*** up. I don’t want to argue with you.”
Unhinged trans activist at Portland State completely LOSES it on @BillboardChris, @peterboghossian, and me.
He doesn’t want to explain why mutilating kids genitals is okay, he just wants his way, okay? pic.twitter.com/ZZJOuF1CBA
— James Klüg (@realJamesKlug) May 4, 2023
Last year, about 300,000 American teens 13 to 17 identified as transgender, a sharp increase over the previous few years.
From 2017 to 2021, gender dysphoria diagnoses in children nearly tripled. Over the same period, gender hormone treatments and surgeries have become trendy despite alarm from parents and medical professionals. Young people who previously identified as transgender have also spoken out about regretting getting medical intervention.