Reinstate Jae Edwards Now!
NC State University Chancellor Kevin Howell
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Mr. Jae Edwards was separated from his position as the assistant director at NC State’s LGBTQ Pride Center less than 24 hours after the right-wing group, Accuracy in Media (AiM), posted a heavily edited video recording made without his knowledge or permission. AiM has similarly targeted student-facing staff members on other UNC System campuses, including UNC Charlotte, UNC Asheville, Western Carolina University, UNC Wilmington and North Carolina A&T, leading to at least four employee terminations. All of the fired staff members have been women or people of color who work directly in support of students, but who lack the protection of tenure.
Since this news broke, individuals and organizations have spoken up for Jae Edwards and to advocate for a safe and ethical campus environment. Notable public support has been shown through a series of open letters by the NCSU Chapter of the American Association of University Professors, the North Carolina Conference of the AAUP, NCSU Graduate Workers Organizing Committee UE Local 150, and NC State Student Government members; and a statement backed by a Coalition of 18+ student and student affiliated organizations across the Triangle.
Yet, we must continue to speak up to show University administrators that we will not tolerate complicity with politically motivated attacks and surveillance that harm members of our campus community. Sign the petition demanding that Chancellor Kevin Howell take immediate action at NC State. If you know Jae or directly experienced the impact of his work, share your story in the comments box!
Petition by
To:
NC State University Chancellor Kevin Howell
From:
[Your Name]
We write to demand the reinstatement of Jae Edwards, former assistant director of the LGBTQ Pride Center at NC State, no later than Friday, February 20.
Mr. Edwards was separated from his position less than 24 hours after the right-wing group, Accuracy in Media (AiM), posted a heavily edited video recording made without his knowledge or permission. Accuracy in Media is itself a partisan nonprofit whose president, Adam Guillette, previously worked for Project Veritas, a right-wing media organization that has been successfully sued for fraud and deceptive tactics. We do not accept a system in which personnel decisions affecting people’s careers and livelihoods are made at the direction of online vigilantes and so-called journalists, whose methods would not be taught in our university or allowed at our university publications.
AiM’s claims do not hold up to objective scrutiny, and their methods violate established standards of journalistic ethics. In the case of NC State, AiM’s headline claims “NC State staffer admits school swapped names and titles, but keeps DEI going,” yet this claim is not consistent with the video or with the direct quotations offered in their report. In fact, AiM was so determined to produce damning evidence that they resorted to paraphrasing Mr. Edwards' speech, rather than presenting an actual spoken quotation. Parts of the “interview” replace his voice with ominous background music, and the questions asked by AiM are inaudible or cut from the recording. No context is offered for Mr. Edwards’s claim that “we’re still able to do the things that we want to do, have these events and programs.”
Jae Edwards did not know he was being recorded, yet many of his statements offer commendable examples of student-centered work that makes a large university like NC State welcoming to all students. “It’s still important, more than ever, to celebrate and uplift our students,” he says. Jae Edwards represents the best of NC State's commitment to caring for the Wolfpack community. Separating Edwards from the university sends our students precisely the wrong message about our values and our concern for their well-being.
NC State must show the Wolfpack community, and especially our students, that we adhere to the highest standards of ethical behavior, moral courage, and human decency. University staff who work tirelessly to help students must be protected and supported. Mr. Jae Edwards must be reinstated.