In the wake of recent legislation targeting the transgender community, some students expressed concern last week over an AI-generated stock image displayed on Pitzer College’s LGBTQIA+ support page, which has since been removed.
Ezra Levinson PZ ’27 called attention to the AI-generated image in a Feb. 18 email to Student Talk — a listserv available to Pitzer students who sign up — with the subject line, “AI-generated queers.”
The stock photo is on Adobe Stock and is named “LGBTQ College Students Studying in Academic Background, LGBTQ college students, studying, academic background.”
“The header of the page where Pitzer brags about being LGBT-friendly is an AI-generated stock photo with pride flags in it that don’t exist,” Levinson wrote.
In an email to TSL, Nick Owchar, Pitzer College’s editorial director and interim marketing and communications lead, explained why Pitzer used the AI-generated image and why it has since been removed.
“Recently we heard from staff colleagues about some student concerns regarding the image being used on the Pitzer LGBTQIA+ page, so we removed it,” he wrote. “We use different kinds of stock imagery to respect the privacy of our students. It isn’t something unique to the LGBTQIA+ page.”
In an interview with TSL, Levinson argued that the image is harmful to the student population.
“It falls short of Pitzer values in just about every way that I can think of,” she said. “Almost worse than that, it prioritizes marketing and, like, surface level image over Pitzer’s values in this very grave moment where we need to be doing the opposite of that.”
According to Levinson’s email to Student Talk, it was especially disheartening to discover the image given the current political climate; she wrote that it would “really make a difference if I felt like my college had my back.”
Recent legislative activity regarding the connection between gender and biological sex has raised some concerns among students. As of Feb. 28, several bills have been passed, including measures that prioritize sex-based identifications in legal documents and on sports teams.
“There’s no shortage of research from the Trevor Project and other organizations that’s shown that when anti-trans legislation is passed, it has a really grave effect on mental health,” Levinson said in her interview. “There’s also research showing that support at the community and the school level for trans students and the trans community can help to counteract those mental health effects.”
Though it was not in response to the AI photo, Pitzer President Strom Thacker expressed support for the trans community, as well as other vulnerable groups, in an email to Pitzer students on Feb. 19.
“Recent and proposed federal policies have impacts across a wide range of issues that affect our community and individuals within it,” Thacker wrote. “It is important to note that Pitzer does not engage in identity-based or other forms of illegal discrimination. On the contrary, we maintain an unwavering commitment to inclusivity and equity. While we may need to adapt to new policies, our core values remain unchanged.”
Both Levinson and Thacker said that they want to keep Pitzer a place that prioritizes community well-being and safety, specifically students vulnerable to recent legislation.
“We need each other,” Levinson said. “Not only do trans students need the support of our college administrators, but college administrators are going to need the support of their students and their communities.”
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