MUNCIE — Ball State University canceled an upcoming LGBTQ staff training session titled ‘LGBTQ 101.’
The session, originally scheduled for April 16, was a Learning and Development session, offered to Ball State employees.
“It’s 2025. We can do better. We can be better, we can do better," Junior Kylie Clayton said. “I think it’s an awful message. It just like I don’t align with any of that, but I know if I did I would feel excluded and like an outcast.”
WRTV spoke with a BSU staff member who is a member of the LGBTQ community.
She asked to remain anonymous because she was afraid of backlash from her employer.
“I think there’s a lot of danger in removing those safeguards for marginalized groups. I can see how decisions like that would instill a lot of fear in people," she said. "I think it’s important that they can fully understand the students that they’re teaching and understand different viewpoints.”
WRTV reached out to the university to find out why the session was canceled.
A spokesperson said in an emailed statement:
“Amid bills that have been introduced in Indiana’s current legislative session, leadership of the Office of Inclusive Excellence at Ball State felt it was prudent to pause this session until there is further clarity and organizers are able to provide timely and constructive learning for our employees.”
The university did not specify which bills it was referring to.
A bill introduced this legislative session dealing with diversity, equity and inclusion is Senate Bill 235.
SB-235 would limit DEI initiatives at state agencies, educational institutions, health licensing boards and more.
The bill allows the attorney general to bring an action concerning noncompliance against a state educational institution.
Freshman JJ Jahnke says DEI initiatives bring value to his university.
“I think the mix of people and their backgrounds and cultures and including them in a campus is definitely beneficial. I think it’s good to learn about other cultures. It’s a great way to grow," Jahnke said.
That senate bill is similar to Gov. Mike Braun's executive order doing away with DEI initiatives at the state level, replacing them with MEI — Merit, Excellence and Intelligence.
