On February 6, 2026, North Carolina State University (NCSU) dismissed the assistant director of the NC State LGBTQ Pride Center, Jae Edwards, in response to a video taken by conservative watchdog Accuracy in Media (AiM). Instead of supporting the Pride Center and Jae Edwards, who were unjustly targeted in this biased attack by Accuracy in Media, NCSU dismissed Jae from his position. We, the undersigned NCSU student and affiliated organizations, stand in support of Jae Edwards and the Pride Center and demand Jae Edwards’ reinstatement.
NCSU firing Jae, a Black and queer worker from the Pride Center, shows the University aligns with reactionary, anti-Black, conservative ideology that targets people because of their identities. The Pride Center provides resources and a safe space to our campus community, who have already seen their courses limited by last year’s DEI directives handed down from the UNC System Board of Governors. Jae is a trusted member of our NCSU community, welcoming everyone to the NCSU campus and ensuring each student has the support and community needed to thrive in their education. The loss of Jae’s presence and mentorship on campus is detrimental and heartbreaking for everyone who knows him.
Over the past year, AiM has released similar videos targeting UNC Charlotte, UNC Asheville, Western Carolina University, UNC Wilmington and North Carolina A&T. Jae Edwards is at least the fourth UNC System worker whose employment has been terminated after being targeted by the group’s recordings.
This attack on the Pride Center workers is part of a broader effort to suppress and stifle knowledge, research, and discourse that does not parrot an anti- diversity, equity, and inclusion platform. The university’s response is symptomatic of a larger wave of oppression being felt by the campus community.
The University’s capitulation to AiM further indicates its stance in support of the creeping racism and fascism of the Trump administration. Rather than supporting the mental and physical safety of students and employees, the university fired a beloved and respected mentor for a frequently marginalized campus group. This is part of the University’s current trend of eliminating student support while simultaneously increasing fees. Over the past year, the university eliminated the Black Male Initiative, Native Space, Living and Learning Villages, suspended the Council on the Status of Women, censored Palestinian author Hannah Moushabeck’s children’s book on campus, and refused to object to the UNC system’s new mandate making all syllabi public.
The University continues to show disregard for the well-being of its student body and those who support it, even after a string of suicides across campus only three years ago that highlighted serious issues surrounding a lack of student support.
Fascism benefits no one.
We demand freedom from surveillance on campus. Surveillance and targeted attacks by harmful organizations, like Accuracy in Media, disrupt students from learning freely, disrupt the ability of staff to support our community, and hinder knowledge sharing by faculty.
We demand freedom from targeted and bigoted attacks on our education and employment.
We demand the reinstatement of Jae Edwards as the assistant director of the Pride Center.
We stand with Jae, we stand with our community, we stand for academic freedom on our campuses.
Sincerely,
T-Files
National Pan-Hellenic Council
QTBIPOC @ NC State
Dissenters, Triangle Chapter
Young Democratic Socialists of America at NC State
Students For Justice in Palestine, NCSU
NCSU Graduate Workers Organizing Committee, UE Local 150
Campus Community Alliance For Environmental Justice
Student Panthers, NCCU
Society of Physics Students at NC State
Society for Undergraduate Mathematics
Aces and Aros
oSTEM
Code Black
Sociology and Anthropology Graduate Student Association
Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math at NC State (oSTEM at NC State)
Latino Association of Computer Science
