The University of Wyoming is being sued by a group of sorority sisters over the university’s acceptance of a biological man who identifies as a woman into their sorority..In the suit seven women from the Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG) sorority house say they “live in constant fear in our home,” alleging the biological male, Artemis Langford, who is 21, stands 6-ft. 2-ins and weighs 260-pounds, has become physically aroused around them, reports the New York Post..Langford, who is referred to Terry Smith and called ‘he’ and ‘him’ in in the suit, joined the sorority last September. He lives outside the sorority house, but was intending to move in sometime this year, according to Cowboy State Daily..However, Langford often stays for meals and attends events with the women, their attorney, Cassie Craven told Megyn Kelly on her podcast Monday..“It’s a weird, gut-wrenching feeling that every time I leave my room there’s a possibility that I’ll walk past him in the hall,” one of the sorority sisters, who remained unnamed, told Kelly. “It’s a weird feeling just to know that I could run into him anytime. (He has) full access to the house, but this just goes to show we need women’s spaces for that reason.” .She added, “Our house is our home. Just like anyone else’s home. You go home at the end of the day to feel comfortable and relaxed in your own skin. And you can’t do that knowing that this individual has full access to your house.”.The suit claims that national sorority officials pressured the local chapter to violate sorority rules by allowing Smith to enter the sisterhood..Another student, who also remained unidentified, said the situation is particularly distressing because some of her sisters have been “sexually assaulted or sexually harassed” and want to feel safe inside the home, reports the Post..“So, some girls live in constant fear in their home and our home is supposed to be a safe space. It is seriously an only-female space. It is so different than living in the dorms, for instance, where men and women can commingle on the floors. That is not the case in a sorority house. We share just a couple of main bathrooms on the upstairs floor.” .The lawsuit alleges that Langford stared at the women without talking for hours, reports the Post..“One sorority member walked down the hall to take a shower, wearing only a towel. She felt an unsettling presence, turned, and saw Mr. Smith watching her silently,” the lawsuit alleges..In another disturbing incident, the Post reports, the lawsuit alleges Langford has even become physically aroused..“Mr. Smith has, while watching members enter the sorority house, had an erection visible through his leggings,” the suit says. “Other times, he has had a pillow in his lap.” .Craven told Kelly that “there has been an exemption granted for him for his safety, but not for these young women.”.“That individual still comes to the house, still engages in dinner, still sits in the chair and watches the girls.” .One of the students said she almost decided to leave the sorority because of the issue, says the Post..“But I reconnected with fellow sisters and alumni and I realized how important this organization is to me and to everybody else. And I refuse to allow subverting my rights as a woman to cater towards the comfort of a man. I will not let him take these opportunities away from me,” she said..Craven agreed trans students need “their own spaces” and “deserve to be safe and protected,” but that shouldn’t come at a cost to female students..“It’s so obvious. It’s so biologically fundamental to the core. And we can’t allow, well, culture to be the arbiter of what sisterhood is. It’s a shared experience and it’s growth and it’s development and this experience is not doing this individual any justice whatsoever. So that’s where I think the left gets it wrong.” .In the suit, the plaintiffs maintain the national KKG sorority, its national council president and Langford put pressure on the Wyoming chapter to breach sorority rules, claiming a 2018 Guide for Supporting Our LGBTQIA+ Members indicates the sorority is a ‘single-gender’ organization..Kari Kittrell Poole, executive director of the sorority, told the Associated Press the lawsuit “contains numerous false allegations,” but did not specify what those were, only adding the sorority does not discriminate against gender identity..The suit asks Langford’s membership be voided and the seven women be awarded unspecified damages.
