In July, Guillot v. Whitehead was settled after a judge denied most claims against the university board in April. In an Instagram post, plaintiffs cited insufficient funds to continue the lawsuit.
“We settled, but nothing actually changed,” said Dellosa, a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “We didn’t win anything, SPU, the board of trustees didn’t win anything. I think we were all just really tired and wanted it to end.”
Purcell and Hanson added that over the summer, the university reduced its faculty by 40% to cut costs. Hanson is one of the casualties of the cuts — his current contract ends in June. Purcell said the biggest reason for budget constraints has been a shrinking student body, which he attributed to the convergence of COVID-19, the dip in college-age students in general and “the fact that the university has chosen to be quite muscular” in its response to LGBTQ activity on campus.
“I think the university … will have to make adjustments and decide how long they want to hang their cross on this particular issue,” said Purcell.
Dellosa, who told RNS she is the only openly queer staff member on campus, said that for now, she’s chosen to stay at SPU.
“I think that effective change happens from within,” said Dellosa. “There’s a group of us that are still dedicated to that change. I think that it’s important for staff and faculty to realize that queer Christians do exist, and we are still here on campus.”
This article originally appeared here.
