Aki Benjamin

THHS alumni association co-president faces call for resignation.

In March, Manhattan’s District 2 Community and Citywide Education Council (CEC) approved a resolution (#248) that quickly made headlines. Politico reported that the CEC vote is part of a “push to restrict transgender girls’ athletic participation” and “[brings] a national issue for cultural conservatives to the largest school district in the Democratic bastion of Manhattan.”

The resolution calls for the city to create a committee to review the DOE’s current policy, which allows students to participate in sports in accordance with their gender identity.

In the months since the vote, numerous outlets have reported on city and state reactions to the resolution. Most notably, NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks called the resolution “despicable.” In late May, The New York Times reported on a letter written by 18 Democratic elected officials from New York that described the proposal as “hateful, discriminatory and actively harmful” to NYC students. According to the Times, the lawmakers “demanded that the council formally rescind the resolution.”

One member of the council who voted for the resolution is Craig Slutzkin, the co-president of the Townsend Harris Alumni Association (THAA). Shortly after Mr. Slutzkin’s support for the resolution became public, class of 2018 alumnus Aaron Fernando, who has a large following on Twitter, now X, co-wrote an open letter calling on Mr. Slutzkin to resign or be removed as co-president and treasurer of THAA.

Almost 200 people signed the letter, saying that they “stand in full solidarity with transgender students and condemn Craig Slutzkin’s hateful targeting of them through this resolution.” The Queens Chronicle covered the letter in March, and spoke to THHS alumna and NYS Assemblymember Nily Rozic, who “said in a statement to the Chronicle that Slutzkin should no longer hold his post.”

In the weeks since, The Classic has interviewed various members of the THHS community about the controversy.

In response to the open letter, which characterized the resolution as demanding “that the Department of Education consider banning transgender girls from women’s sports,” Mr. Slutzkin emailed the following to The Classic: “There was no call for any bans. Unlike what the author’s statement and petition said, I did not ask for, nor call for, any ban on trans-girls in school sports nor have ever personally called for any bans.”

Resolution #248 called on NYC schools to convene a Gender Guidelines review committee that would include “evolutionary biology experts” and would be “authorized to propose amendments, changes and additions to the Gender Guidelines which are the result of an inclusive, evidence-based process concerning the impact on female athletes when the category of sex is replaced by gender identity.”

Mr. Slutzkin framed the resolution passed by CEC 2 as solely intending to create “a safe forum to have difficult yet respectful conversations about how school sports are organized.”

In a statement to The Classic, DOE deputy press secretary Chayann Tull said, “All students have the right to have their gender, gender identity, and gender expression recognized and respected. In our schools, every student can participate in sports and competitive athletics in accordance with their gender identity, and we prohibit any exclusion of students based on their gender identity.”

Principal Brian Condon spoke to The Classic before going on medical leave in May. He expressed his general support for Mr. Slutzkin, calling him “resolute” and a “man of good character.” He said that he “would not encourage him to step down” and thought people in the community should “let cooler heads prevail.” In addition, he said that Mr. Slutzkin’s role as a member of the CEC 2 panel was separate from his role as the THAA co-president, and that THAA members could better express themselves by seeking new leadership when voting in a new Board of Directors for the THAA.

Assistant Principal of Organization Ellen Fee is Acting Principal while Mr. Condon is on leave. She did not comment on calls for Mr. Slutzkin’s resignation but she said she agreed with Chancellor Banks and shared concerns for transgender students. Moreover, she said she believes that there is no need to review what has already been put in place.

“When policies and guidelines are constantly ‘reviewed’ it gives the impression that we are not supporting [students], but we’re putting things under review, and that’s not okay,” Ms. Fee said.

Alumna and recently appointed Assistant Principal of Pupil Personnel Services Jessica Graf said she is determined to continue supporting students in participating on teams that align with their gender identity. “We have the responsibility to advocate and ensure that these guidelines are upheld as they are the policy issued by the Department of Education,” she said.

Junior Nadia Afifa was one of the students who signed Mr. Fernando’s open letter. After seeing the post circulating on social media, she said she was motivated to sign the petition by a “need to uphold [her] values of inclusion and wanting a safer space for all students.” She said she believes that Mr. Slutzkin should no longer hold his position on the THAA.

“I think keeping Craig Slutzkin on the Alumni Association with such a high authority does send a message that we’re willing to condone bigoted ideas even if it’s harmful towards some of the students in Townsend Harris who seek to have a safe space. Being able to hold such ignorant ideas shouldn’t be tolerated. I believe in upholding our school values and there should be consequences for such harmful rhetoric,” Nadia said.

Senior Angelice Jean-Remy found out about the open letter after her sister, a THHS alumnus, sent it to her. Angelice said she signed to add her name to the open letter after thinking about the transgender students at THHS and around the country that she believes may be harmed due to the resolution. “There’s a lot of anti-trans hysteria in the news and social media, and I think it’s important for this school to take a stand against transphobia,” Angelice said.

The Classic asked the leader of THHS’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) to comment on the resolution. GSA President Vee Shupty said, “Needless to say, transgender students should never be singled out in school, and neither should any student regardless of their identity. Trans kids are valid in their identities regardless of what anyone tells them or what situations they find themselves in.”

Numerous students whom The Classic interviewed asked to speak about the topic anonymously. Two PSAL athletes at the school expressed some support for the resolution, with one student saying that, in their experience, transgender athletes had unfair advantages and the other student saying that they didn’t want to ban transgender students from competing but supported a wider conversation about the subject.

A third PSAL student athlete at THHS called the resolution discriminatory and said that any attempts to debate the inclusion of trans athletes represents a step backwards for the city and the school.

Selina Lee, THAA co-president, did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

Though calls for Mr. Slutzkin’s resignation from THAA have died down since March, last month Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine chose not to reappoint Mr. Slutzkin to his position on Manhattan’s Community Board 5 (CB5), with news reports citing the CEC resolution as the reason Mr. Slutzkin was “ousted” from his position.

According to Our Town, though Levine did not comment on Mr. Slutzkin directly, in a later meeting he called the CEC resolution “reprehensible” and said “let’s be honest, this was not about youth sports. These are not people who care about youth sports standing up for youth sports.”

In a statement to the New York Post on the subject of CB5, Mr. Slutzkin said he had been “made aware” that the motive for his not being reappointed may have been his vote on the CEC resolution.

“I believe that it is incumbent on all of us to engage in difficult conversations with honesty and integrity,” he told The Post. “I want to make it clear that I harbor no bias of any kind, whether it is based on race, creed, gender, gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation.”