The Acting Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at SSU, Roberta Milliken initially received a complaint from Meriwether, who alleges that the transgender student pledged to get him fired and called him a “c**t” when he refused to use their preferred pronouns. Milliken advised Meriwether to only refer to students by their last names in order to not offend the transgender student, which he at first rejected.

Meriwether said that “referring to students by last names alone would undermine the serious pedagogical environment he seeks to create, because that is what people refer to one another in junior high or on an athletic team, and not the way scholars engage in a serious, respectful enterprise, refer to one another.”

Eventually Meriwether did comply with the order, but that was not enough. The transgender student continued to get triggered and the University began investigating Meriwether as a result. He feels he was ultimately “silenced” and “punished” by the school for refusing to take actions against his Christian faith.

“Milliken expressed to Meriwether that the student was not satisfied with the arrangement and had threatened to file a Title IX grievance over Dr. Meriwether’s expression,” the lawsuit stated.