Petey Peterson’s Wrongful Termination & Survival Fund

My name is Petey Peterson (they/them) and on Monday, September 23rd, I was terminated over Zoom from my position as Director for the Office for Gender & Sexual Diversity at a prestigious private university in New Orleans, effective immediately. This came as a shock and surprise.

I served in this role faithfully for 5 years, and my termination boiled down to reposting a phone zap on my personal social media in support of anti-Zionist students facing legal repercussions for peacefully demonstrating on campus. I also served as an observer during this peaceful demonstration in May, something I thought was my job but for which I was suspended for a week. I believe I am being made an example of by this institution, especially after a criminal court found student demonstrators not guilty of protesting. I believe I'm being made an example of not only because of my belief that students have the right to free speech and to protest peacefully, but for being a loud advocate for queer and trans students, staff, and faculty in general.

Although HR told me the reason for my termination was a direct impact of my advocacy work on my personal and private social media. I also know that my reputation as a "troublemaker" at the institution weighed heavily in their decision to terminate me.

Workplace harm at this institution was commonplace and my advocacy for myself and the queer and trans folks around me was often faced with annoyance and silence at all levels of the school.

During my 5 years in this position, I worked in a daily office climate that was not culturally competent enough to work respectfully with trans people. I was constantly misgendered by my supervisor and those around me, something that has caused me great psychological harm. Classically, this behavior was not limited to my department but by the leadership of the division I worked in and higher administration at the institution. This harm extended far beyond me and I was clear with everyone who would listen that this was violence, directly affecting students and staff. One look at a recent climate survey the institution did will tell you all you need to know about the pervasiveness of harm.

I experienced and witnessed constant acts of transphobia toward me, students, and other trans colleagues. Trans people are not strangers to this kind of harm but when you work at an identity- based center purporting to serve your own people, this harm becomes even more personal. As the all-trans staff I worked with faced this harm, I spoke directly with my supervisor, asking for behavior change, offering resources and support, etc. but was met with complacency and silence at every staff retreat, many staff meetings, and in 1:1 meetings. I was directly told by my supervisor not to submit a concerns report (our only institutionalized form of accountability processes at Tulane) about this behavior because we "handle these kinds of things internally in our office."

The transphobic hostility created a work environment that at times was unbearable. To also witness peers not intervening in these moments or encouraging change as well was equally harmful. Still I showed up and worked relentlessly to uplift queer and trans people on campus.

It is no surprise that it was much easier for the administration to fire me instead of actually changing, but here we are.

Because of the institutions desire for "business as usual," where workers are not allowed opinions outside of a party line, I now am in deep need of community support.

This job was the primary source of income for my partner and me, along with our furbabies and we are left in a terrible financial situation because of this sudden termination.

We are now faced with the decision to put our house up for sale in October and move from New Orleans. From the uncertainty of not knowing if we'll be able to make mortgage payments while the sale goes through, to the sudden loss of medical coverage for my disabled and chronically-ill partner who is unable to work full time hours, we are left to pick up the pieces of the mess.

As a consolation prize, I was offered a severance agreement that essentially functions as an NDA for a laughable amount of money. It feels clear to me this agreement is so that I will stay silent about the reasons I was terminated and the transphobic treatment I experienced and witnessed on a daily basis. To say no to this well-oiled machine that is this institution is terrifying.

But, thanks to the bravery of student protestors and my peers alike, I feel confident in saying: I will not sign this agreement; I will not let this institution scare me in to silence.

Together we are stronger and more creative than those in power have the capacity to be.

I could say so much more but I am just so tired. Because of Tulane's monopoly as the biggest employer in New Orleans, it is no longer possible for me and my family to stay in New Orleans. Leaving the city will be heart-breaking but we have to move forward from the violence this institution has caused.

This is our new reality.

My family and I deeply appreciate any support you can provide to help us make it through the next few months while we figure out how to sustain our family.

With all the solidarity and queer love I can muster,

Petey Peterson

they/them