Students and faculty are upset with the University of Louisville's response after a student showed up at an LGBTQ studies course in which he is not enrolled and passed out anti-gay literature.

Kaila Story, an associate professor of women and gender studies and Pan-African studies, said the student came to her Introduction to LGBTQ Studies class last week, passed out pamphlets and then "lurked outside the class."

The pamphlet, published by the Christian group Living Waters Publications, begins by describing a woman who is locked in a car on a train track and is rescued at the last minute from being hit by an oncoming train she didn’t see.

“Perhaps you believe you are gay, or maybe you are sympathetic toward homosexuality and you think that what people do sexually is their own business,” the 36-page pamphlet says. “Whatever the case, I want to convince you that you are sitting in a car on a railroad track with a train coming, and you don’t know it.”

Story said she reported the incident to the leaders of her departments, who contacted the university's administrators.

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Pan-African Studies Department Chair Ricky Jones said the Office of Student Affairs met with the student and told him he could return to the class again as long as he gives 48 hours' notice.

"I want to be clear, we do not believe this is a free speech issue," said Jones, who also writes opinion pieces for The Courier Journal. "I believe it is an issue of hate speech, and it is an issue of harassment."

University spokesman John Karman said in an email that administrators were informed about the incident last week and have met with the faculty who raised the issue.

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"Officials also have met with the student and have been assured that his intention was only to provide information rather than to intimidate," Karman said. "While the student’s actions caused concern among the students and faculty in the classroom, he apparently followed the law and university policy when distributing the literature."

Karman said administrators will continue to monitor the situation. He declined to name the student who delivered the pamphlets because of privacy rules.

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Story said she was "beyond disturbed" by how the incident was handled. "This kind of disregard and dismissive attitude by the Dean of Students Office when it comes to concern of student and faculty safety is not and will not be tolerated by me or my students. It’s blatant disregard."

Students said they are planning a protest at 1 p.m. Thursday outside Grawemeyer Hall.

Luke Moore, president of Shades, an LGBTQ student organization, said group members are disappointed and angry about the "inaction and incompetence of the University of Louisville, Neeli Bendapudi and her staff, and the Student Affairs office."

Kaelan Strom, a student in the class, told The Courier Journal the incident made him feel harassed and unsafe.

“Throughout my life, I have been in situations where my sexuality has (led) to fearful interactions between hateful groups and people, but when that compromises my education, I draw the line,” Strom said. “I should not be afraid to learn my history. I should not be afraid to attend a class. I should not be afraid that things may escalate.”

Another student in the course, Charlotte Haydon, said she and her classmates want to make university officials understand their concern.

"It's distressing to know that an individual went out of his way to target a specific group and invalidate their existence," Haydon said. "And to have that happen and not have university staff even blink an eye. ... We don't feel safe."

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The University of Louisville is governed by the Campus Free Speech Act, which was passed by the Kentucky legislature in 2019. It broadly protects student and faculty freedom of expression in the classroom, including religious and political viewpoints.

U of L's policies allow students to demonstrate as long as they are acting in an "orderly and peaceful manner" and do not in any way "interfere with the proper functioning of the university."

Students and student organizations are allowed to distribute written material on campus without prior university approval as long as the "distribution does not disrupt the operations of the University or violate University rules."

"When students or student organizations demonstrate in an area not traditionally used as an open public forum, the University reserves the right to make reasonable restrictions as to time, place, and manner of the student demonstrations," according to U of L's website.

The university says it has a history of being a "trailblazer" in making the campus more inclusive for the LGBTQ community. It opened its LGBT Center in 2007 to provide support for students after its campus “was littered with homophobic flyers,” the center says on its website.

The LGBT Center's director did not return a phone call and email from The Courier Journal requesting comment.

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While the university has won awards for being LGBTQ-friendly, Jones said that doesn't represent the campus' culture.

"This type of terror is ongoing, but people don’t want to say anything about it," Jones said. "The university is not only unprepared, but also trying to justify their approach that places students and faculty members in danger."

Moore said the university "has touted itself for its diverse and inclusive community. However, when this community asks the university to fight for them, the university has shown that they do not care about the safety and well being of the LGBTQ students and faculty (and) staff here."

Reach Savannah Eadens at seadens@courierjournal.com, 502-381-9498 or on Twitter at @savannaheadens. Reach Emma Austin at eaustin@gannet.com or on Twitter at @emmacaustin. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.