CORRECTION: This article previously incorrectly stated that first-year Mya Doyle said hormone blockers stop a child’s reproductive organs from operating.
Editor’s Note: This piece contains anti-trans rhetoric.
Vanderbilt College Republicans hosted a debate on April 4 over whether minors should be legally allowed to undergo gender-affirming surgery, which the recently-passed Tennessee Senate Bill 1 prohibits. The debate was preceded by a protest from junior Chandler Quaile, who was removed from the room by VUPD, as well as earlier calls for the cancellation of the debate from Vanderbilt College Democrats and Vanderbilt Lambda Association. According to VCR President Shane Mumma, a senior, nearly 100 students attended the event.
The affirmative side, which argued in favor of SB 1, was debated by first-years Noah Jenkins, Mya Doyle and Elden Parker. The opposing side included junior Alec Boulton, first-year Jaylan Sims and senior Tucker Apgar. Jaylan Sims is a staff writer, photographer and podcaster for The Vanderbilt Hustler. VCR member Skyler Shipp, a sophomore, moderated the debate. Shipp previously has debated in VCR debates on the conservative side.
The debate was initially advertised as moderated by outgoing Vanderbilt Student Government Vice President Ari Sasson, a junior, but The Hustler obtained documentation that Sasson did not agree to moderate a debate with this topic in writing to Mumma. Upon noticing the flyers including his name and photo, the documentation shows that he notified Mumma that he would not be moderating unless the topic was changed.
Opposition to debate
Before the debate began, Quaile, community relations director of Vanderbilt Lambda Association, protested the event, saying into a megaphone that the debate was offensive to transgender individuals. He also said the audience was complicit in the spreading of hatred and asked the Democratic representatives to step down and not support the debate.
After Quaile spoke, he was escorted out of the building by a VUPD officer. Boulton and Mumma remarked how he should not have protested and, instead, should have voiced his opinion to the organizers before the debate. He then went on to address Quaile’s claims that the Democratic side of the debate should step down, saying that free speech was under attack on campus and it is important that debates like this exist.
VUPD later stated that an officer approached Quaile, who had been asked to refrain from continuing the protest or leave, upon which he “peacefully and cordially” left the event.
Mumma stated that Quaile was removed by VUPD due to his efforts to “intimidate people to leave,” and that he could have participated in the debate or Q&A session instead to make his voice heard. He also mentioned that VCR has VUPD officers at all of their events that “generate controversy” to assure the safety of attendees.
During a debate on March 21 for the VSG student body elections moderated by The Hustler, vice-president-elect and junior Kendelle Grubbs stated that the VCR debate on April 4 was “potentially opening up the space for bigotry” and that events like these can make LGBTQ+ students feel unsafe. Mumma responded to Grubbs’s comments in an email to The Hustler, saying that he was disappointed by that and called upon students that encourage “civil dialogue” to vote against candidates who “denounce debates.”
“I don’t think it’s productive to denounce debates,” Mumma said. “I think debates like this are very important on college campuses, especially a school like Vanderbilt, where we value free speech so much.”
On March 23, Vanderbilt College Democrats posted a statement on its Instagram page condemning the debate, clarifying it is not involved with the event and that the topic is offensive to LGBTQ+ students.
“Hosting this event mere weeks after TN enacted some of the most oppressive anti-trans legislation in the country is incredibly tone deaf and attendance at these sort of events tells trans and LGBTQ+ students that their existences on our campus is up for debate,” the post said.
Mumma also claimed that Boulton was removed from the Vanderbilt College Democrats organization earlier for participating in the debate. VCD President Claire Reber clarified that Boulton was not kicked out of the organization, but was removed from their GroupMe after he advertised the debate that VCD had condemned.
Vanderbilt Lambda Association also made a statement via Instagram on April 3 denouncing the topic of the debate.
“The Vanderbilt Lambda Association condemns the Vanderbilt College Republicans for their hateful, dangerous, and tasteless debate over the lives of transgender people and necessary, life-saving health care,” the statement said. “We also urge the wider Vanderbilt community to boycott this debate. Our lives and rights are NOT up for debate.”
Debate
The debate consisted of three rounds of speaking, with both sides giving a five-minute statement and followed by a five-minute unmoderated cross-examination between the two speakers. The fourth round consisted of one five-minute concluding statement from each side to summarize their respective arguments.
Jenkins opened by claiming that “transgenderism” is an “illness” and proposed that this “disease” is mental. Boulton opened by stating that sex and gender are two separate concepts.
After the openings, Doyle spoke about the potential effects of hormone blockers, specifically relating to fertility.
“Every youth considering puberty blockers must be told: No pubertal hormones, no sexual fertility,” Doyle said.
Mayo Clinic states that hormone blockers do not affect fertility nor do they have other lasting effects if ceased, according to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.
Apgar responded to Doyle’s argument, stating that puberty blockers are reversible.
“Lawmakers are making the assumption that we are taking draconian measures by taking kids into surgery… when this is simply not the case,” Apgar said. “You can obviously ask what stage is appropriate to begin considering decisions related to transitioning, but if you are having persistent distress…that’s why having gender-affirming care is important.”
Parker provided another five-minute argument for the affirmative, arguing that a child could express their gender differently from traditional gender roles without being transgender.
During his five-minute argument, Sims argued that children whose gender identities are not accepted by society are in danger of suicide.
“Gender transformation is a medically necessary primary care for transgender and gender diverse children,” Sims said. “It is not a joke, as some Republicans would say, or a cosmetic procedure, but rather a crucial aspect of their overall health and well-being.”
After the debate ended, Quaile explained in an interview why he chose to protest at the event.
“[VCR] decided that platforming hate was more important than the trans students on this campus who are fighting every day to be loved, accepted and supported,” Quaile said in a message to The Hustler. “My only hope is that students understood how violent these ideas are and how platforming bigotry normalizes it.”
