Written for The Argo by Ryan Connelly and Laura Leonel.

STOCKTON UNIVERSITY — Certain members of the Stockton Republican Club are under fire following leaks from their group chat two weeks ago that featured transphobic slurs levied toward transgender Stockton students. 

In screenshots obtained by The Argo, members of the Stockton Republican Club GroupMe chat were found exchanging transphobic comments between each other, with one member claiming that, “There’s no such thing as a trans person, you’re born with your genitalia and chromosomes and that’s the end of the story.” Another member acknowledged this comment agreeing.

Other details of conversation focused on one specific student, with one member claiming that they were “not gonna acknowledge the tr***y” in their class,” further continuing their comment with “she doesn’t even try to look like a guy either.”

Members of the group chat expressed their disdain for the drag community stating that the Democratic party, “[is] the same party that condones mentally r****ded guys to dress as women and make a mockery of being a woman.”

The screenshots first started getting traction on the social media service YikYak, with one user posting censored screenshots of the GroupMe chat. Users discussed in the comments, with several users commenting that they reported the club. Following this, Stockton Republicans made a post on their Instagram acknowledging the screenshots.

“As some may know, there’s been a recent issue and misunderstanding with what is considered acceptable in our group chat,” said Public Relations Officer Sydney Nelson in the post. “With this being said, we want to establish very clearly that while opinions are welcome in the group chat, personal attacks and ‘name dropping’ specific individuals is never acceptable as discourse.” Nelson also mentions that the group chat in question is now under “new admin.”

Stockton Republicans did not respond to requests for comment.

Jeff Wakemen, Director of Student Development, sent a mass email to all clubs about conduct in club group chats, specifically around tightening chat moderation and reporting hate speech.

“Any behavior that breaks the student code of conduct may result in action by the university. Bias, hate speech, and threats should never be accepted and may result in conduct charges,” said Wakemen.

Student Development did not respond to requests for comment, claiming that the screenshots were now a judicial issue.

This issue can be considered harmful as several communities at Stockton University are public about their identities and beliefs, which can expose them to potential violence from students who hold differing values.

Members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community should be aware that Stockton University does not condone this type of behavior, and students have resources on campus to assist with any questions or concerns they might have. Visit the Women’s Gender and Sexuality Center located in F-103.

If anyone has additional information, please email stocktonargo@gmail.com or send a message on Instagram, @stocktonargo.