A student at Louisiana State University (LSU) who was kicked out of her sorority over a TikTok video critical of the transgender agenda and Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine says the university ignored her request for the incident to be investigated for bias.
The Alpha Phi sorority informed LSU student Emily Hines that her membership was terminated after she posted a TikTok video in which she could be seen dancing to the song, “More Than a Woman” by the Bee Gees, while an image of Levine is displayed on the screen below her.
During the video, the lyrics, “more than a woman, more than a woman to me,” can be heard while Hines dances and points down at the image of Levine, in an apparent nod to the fact that the assistant secretary for health is a biological male.
Hines told the College Fix that she believes the decision to terminate her membership was politically motivated — despite the sorority claiming it does not side with political views.
“I think they chose to remove me because my beliefs go against modern society and it would look bad on them,” Hines said. “Sororities are all about outward appearance and I know first hand that Alpha Phi is no exception.”
“They’re a private organization so they can have their own set of rules, but they don’t apply to everyone, which is a major fault in their organization as a whole,” the student continued.
“As a conservative, even though I may not agree with decisions you make or words you say, I’ll defend your Constitutional right to do and say those things; that was clearly not the case for them,” Hines added.
Hines also mentioned that she reported the incident to LSU’s bias reporting system in April, stating in her complaint that she has faced discrimination based on her religious beliefs, but says the university has effectively ignored the request, as she has not received a response as of yet.
“LSU has a freedom of speech and expression policy and it applies to all campus locations,” Hines added. “I, along with other conservatives on campus, feel it’s become an unsafe space for certain views and beliefs.”
The university encourages students to file complaints with its Bias or Discrimination Incident Report system whenever they “witness or experience conduct that discriminates, stereotypes, marginalizes, excludes, harasses or harms anyone in our community based on their identity.”
“The elimination of discrimination on our campus begins with reporting,” LSU adds. “We urge you to take a proactive stance against discrimination and bring any instance of discriminatory behavior to our attention by completing this form.”
The university’s Director of Media Relations Ernie Ballard confirmed that the school received Hines’ report to the College Fix, but said that bias reporting at LSU had recently transitioned to the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX.
After being questioned by the media outlet, Ballard said that both Media Relations and the Office of Student Advocacy and Accountability have reached out to the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX, and would follow up with Hines’ report at a later date. LSU apparently prioritized commenting to the media over replying to the student impacted by the incident.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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