"I can no longer in good faith support Samford University with my time, finances, or service."

Dr. Taylor,

I am writing to you to express my disappointment in the recent moves to restrict religious liberty on campus and to ask for a reversal of this decision.

I am a 2016 graduate of Samford and am grateful for my time there. I attended on a debate scholarship and Presidential Scholarship as a University Fellow. I graduated summa cum laude, was appointed to the U.S. National Debate Team, received a Fulbright grant to Germany, and was selected as a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship. I credit the education I received at Samford with these accolades.

I am also a queer woman.

I firmly believe that were such policies in place when I attended Samford, the climate of the school would have been even more hostile to LGBTQ students than it was from 2012-2016. I was able to flourish at Samford precisely because the educational mission of the university was of paramount importance, far beyond religious training or taking a side in a political culture war. I fear that this educational mission is no longer the priority, and students like me will suffer. I could not have achieved all that I did without the system of support in place I had from particular faculty members, the University Fellows program, and affirming Christian ministries. I am sure you're aware of the increased risk of mental health problems and suicide that LGBTQ teens face—any action that increases the stress or perceived hostility to your students is thus an extreme detriment to student success at Samford.

The recent decisions from the Office of Spiritual Life are at exact odds with the stated mission and values of the university. I learned to think critically at Samford—those critical thinking skills are precisely what makes me see this decision as so laughable. If you fail to see the hypocrisy and logical tensions in the current policies and the stated mission, I welcome you to enroll in any of my classes, in which I teach the basics of logical fallacies and standards of reasoning.

Dr. Taylor, I had extreme hope for your new administration. As a member of the higher education community, I, too, am familiar with the unique challenges facing universities. However, your leadership in this matter will only worsen these challenges if Samford remains on its current trajectory.

I am embarrassed to claim Samford as my alma mater. I am ashamed to admit I have donated my limited money from my graduate student stipend to your school. I regret that I have encouraged students to apply to Samford in the past.

But, let me assure you that these actions will end. Since 2016, I have worked as a contracted coach with the debate team during the Samford Debate Institute and through the competition season (which, as you know, resulted in a historic novice national championship win last year. In 2016, I was a member of the first all-woman team from Samford to ever qualify for the National Debate Tournament, and I hoped to set a precedent for young women to succeed on the team in the following years. The success of Abi McKibben and Grace Blackwell, who I coached last year during their successful season, is perhaps a testament to this legacy). In addition, I have mentored 5 of your Fulbright applicants for free, including for the current grant cycle. As a PhD candidate in Communication Arts & Sciences, I have accepted invitations to guest lecture in several CAM courses.

I can no longer in good faith support Samford University with my time, finances, or service.

I will continue to speak about the backwards momentum of this school to anybody willing to listen—and, it seems that many do wish to listen. When I drafted a thread on Twitter about my thoughts on this decision, hundreds of people engaged with the information, and prospective students, current students, local clergy, and alumni all reached out to me privately to express their extreme disappointment and hurt. To date, the thread has an impression count of 60,000 views.

I pray you use this opportunity to reflect on the educational mission of the university and to signal your support to LGBTQ students and allies, each of whom is keeping a close eye on this situation and deserve the utmost care.

For the gays, for the queers, forever.

Sincerely,

Natalie Bennie ('16)