Professor who balked at using they/them pronouns sues Utah university over sanctions

A theater professor at Southern Utah University has filed a civil lawsuit against school leaders after refusing to use a student’s they/them pronouns.

Richard Bugg, a tenured professor at SUU, filed a complaint Aug. 29 in federal court alleging that his free speech rights were infringed upon when he was instructed to refer to a student by their they/them pronouns.

He said the school’s policy required him to “engage in what the professor considers politically sensitive speech to which the professor is politically and educationally opposed.”

“I am opposed to the coercion of speech that is taking place on our campus and on most campuses. Asking people to use plural pronouns to refer to individuals is one thing. Forcing them to do it is another and contrary to our rights of free speech,” Bugg said, according to the complaint.

David Bishop, a spokesperson for the school, told McClatchy News in a statement that “Southern Utah University is committed to the principles of free speech guaranteed by the U.S. and Utah constitutions as well as applicable statutory and regulatory law as written in institutional Policy 5.1.”

Bishop said the school “followed established policies and conducted an impartial investigation and hearing in accordance with due process” prior to the lawsuit’s filing.

The complaint says that the university’s policy “requires professors to address students by whatever personal pronouns the student insists upon,” including plural pronouns.

In September 2021, Bugg’s acting IV class met for its first time. A non-binary student enrolled in the class requested to be called by they/them pronouns, according to the lawsuit.

Bugg agreed to use the student’s name or any singular pronouns of the student’s choosing instead of their they/them pronouns, according to the complaint.

Bugg attempted to not use gender-specific pronouns but accidentally did a few times, according to the complaint. The university policy explained that any future refusal of the students demands would result in discipline, including potential dismissal, the lawsuit said.

The student later “submitted a formal complaint to the University’s Title IX Office,” according to the complaint. The lawsuit alleges that student’s plan was to get the professor fired. They began trying to have their classmates boycott Bugg’s class and requested that the university establish a “shadow class” for those who didn’t want to be taught by Bugg, the lawsuit says.

The complaint says the university then “initiated a formal investigation” and found that Bugg’s actions violated university policies and were considered discrimination and harassment based on gender identity.

Three sanctions were implemented against Bugg, according to the lawsuit. One required that Bugg “submit to education about current views and opinions of English language and grammar experts and resources that using Gender-Neutral pronouns when referring to an individual is now considered grammatically correct.”

Bugg appealed the sanctions, but his appeal was denied.

Bugg declined to comment when contacted by McClatchy News.

Bishop said in the statement that “while there is no SUU policy that specifically requires the use of gender pronouns, the University must strictly adhere to federal regulations regarding anti-discrimination (Policy 5.27) and sexual misconduct (Policy 5.60) under Title VII and Title IX respectively.”

“Those regulations were updated in January 2021 with the Biden Administration expanding the definition of sex to include gender identity,” the statement said. “SUU employees are required to follow these federal guidelines, just as are all people who are employed in either the private or public sectors.”

The lawsuit seeks the court’s declaration that “it is not a violation of Title IX if a professor declines compliance with a requirement that the professor must use any of an unlimited number of potential pronouns that may be demanded by a student.”

The lawsuit doesn’t seek any monetary damages, although it does request reasonable compensation for attorney’s fees.

Southern Utah University is in Cedar City about 250 miles south of Salt Lake City

This story was originally published September 1, 2022 at 2:03 PM with the headline "Professor who balked at using they/them pronouns sues Utah university over sanctions."