What happened next is a nightmare that the teacher feared might escalate into violence, and to Miller’s mind, remains unresolved, despite an apology that university sent LGBTQ Nation.
“I was profiled, detained and harassed by armed campus police,” says the Santa Fe native, who has no criminal record and believes it was the many tattoos across the chest that set events in motion. According to Miller, the tats symbolizing fire and holy symbols accompany words “from MLK, Gandhi, Shakespeare, Howard Zinn, Elie Weisel, Barbara Kingsolver, Toni Morrison, to name a few.”
“I was trembling before them, praying they didn’t reach for their weapons.”
While there are of course at least two sides to every story, it is clear the officers at no point believed Miller could be a professor at the university. Their official account is far different from that of Miller, who told us “I don’t use any pronouns” and is “(a)gendered and (a)pronouned.” In the interest of not wanting to offend but to impart clear information, this report uses Sj Miller’s last name as often as is possible without cluttering the meaning unnecessarily.
It was July 20, and Miller was on campus to teach Advanced Placement literature and composition to teachers from across Oklahoma. For a lunchtime jog on the university track, Miller had taken off a shirt, and after 45-minute run was en route to the Law School to teach the AP class. Other than that shirt and a cellphone in a pocket, Miller was not carrying anything, and so had no ID to show the officer from the University of Tulsa campus police who made the initial stop.
“Why are you stopping me?” Miller says he asked him. There was no reply, according to the teacher, other than the officer requesting backup. When a second patrol car rolled up and the officers again asked to see Miller’s identification, the exasperation on Miller’s face was obvious.
“I told him again that I didn’t have any ID and was teaching at the APSI. I provided Officer 1 the names of the Dean [of Lifelong Learning, Jack Applegate], and Frances [Najera, the director of the Advanced Placement Summer Institute] so they could verify who I was.”
“Although I cannot recall exactly how many times I asked why I was being stopped, I never received a response. I asked Officer 1 if I was stopped because I had tattoos and being profiled—he never responded.”
Miller said another squad car arrived, and now four officers from the campus police, each of them with a regulation firearm strapped to their belts, surrounding the teacher.
“’I need to go teach my class. If you don’t believe me, then walk with me.’ I said. They refused.”
“After nearly twenty minutes of being detained, 1:00pm was nearing, the time class was to begin. I begged that an officer follow me to class, and one finally capitulated.”
One officer escorted Miller to the Law School, where students were waiting and were able to verify Miller as their teacher. The officer left, and Miller said that was when emotions proved to be overwhelming.
“Feeling targeted and humiliated, I began to cry and left the room with my head down, weighed by the shackles of humiliation.”
A meeting was held the next day that included Miller’s supervisors, Dean Applegate and Ms. Najera, as well as a psychologist, the director of campus security and another member of the security force. Miller had requested the four officers also be present but they were no-shows, as was the university provost, according to Miller.
Miller said Campus Security Director Joe Timmons reported that according to his officers, they saw a male with a bag on private property, walking in the street, and that is why they stopped Miller.
“He insisted that many people are stopped on campus because it is in a high crime area and those with unfamiliar faces are stopped for identification,” Miller says, adding that the only thing being carried was a shirt.
By Miller’s own account, no apology was proffered.
Here is the version of events from the perspective of the university, according to marketing director Mona Chamberlin:
“On July 20, 2016, campus security attempted to conduct a routine pedestrian check on private, university property. It was determined that the pedestrian was SJ Miller, who had been contracted to teach a one-week summer course at The University of Tulsa.
“Professor Miller expressed concern that his presence on campus should not have been questioned. TU officers were following established security protocol and carried out their duties appropriately.
“As a place of scholarship and learning, The University of Tulsa takes seriously its commitment to providing a safe and welcoming atmosphere for our students, faculty, staff and campus visitors. TU is a highly diverse campus in a vibrant, urban environment, and it is our intention to treat all individuals with respect.”
“It is my understanding that the program director had apologized. University officials sincerely regret any misunderstanding between Professor Miller and the officers involved.”
Miller was outraged that Chamberlin claimed the university had already offered an apology — insisting that Timmons said at their meeting, “No, you will not get an apology” — and offered this statement to LGBTQ Nation:
“This is not an apology, and it is NOT a proxy for acknowledging wrong-doing. Using the words, the “University officials sincerely regret any misunderstanding between Professor Miller and the officers involved,” circumvents any responsibility for targeting me. While you, Dawn, as a reporter were responded to immediately, this goes to show how disregarded the already disregarded is (me), and accentuates the greater fear they have at stake– their fear being called out publicly by the media. They are trying to save their asses and don’t regard the human who was aggrieved.”
Miller wants the university to extend an apology directly to him and is calling for sensitivity or anti prejudice reduction training for campus police.
After Tulsa, Miller was hired as New York University’s Deputy Director of Educational Equity, Supports and Services at MetroCenter NYU’s Steinhart Research Hub. “My position is to look at ways to reduce disproportionality,” Miller says.
Trans scholar haunted by frightening brush with Tulsa campus police