Dear Pitzer Community,
Pitzer’s deep commitment to social responsibility and equality is reaffirmed in yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling in Bostock vs. Clayton County. Interpreting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for a six to three majority: “An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. Sex plays a necessary and undistinguishable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids.”
Pitzer has always personified the spirit of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While California law already extended these non-discrimination protections to LGBTQ employees, today’s decision represents a welcome resolution of a long-contentious interpretation of Title VII protection and is a strong reinforcement of our principles. Our college was born in the same wave of idealism that swept America in 1964 — we are heartened by the courage and vision of the 2020 Supreme Court ruling.
Provida Futuri,
Melvin L. OIiver
President
