The University of Wyoming is being sued by a group of sorority sisters over the university’s acceptance of a biological man who identifies as a woman into their sorority.
The New York Post reports that the lawsuit was filed by seven members of Kappa Kappa Gamma against both the university and the male student himself, 21-year-old Artemis Langford, after he repeatedly became physically aroused in the women’s presence. Langford, a 6-foot-2 and 260-pound man, first joined the sorority in September of 2022, and had been living outside the sorority house for the past year, but was expected to move into the house later this year. The suit refers to him by the male alias of “Terry Smith.”
“It’s a weird, gut-wrenching feeling that every time I leave my room there’s a possibility that I’ll walk past him in the hall,” said Hannah, one of the sorority sisters, in an interview. “It’s a weird feeling just to know that I could run into him anytime … (he has) full access to the house. But this just goes to show like we need women’s spaces for that reason.”
The lawsuit states that at least one member of the sorority encountered Langford while she was heading for the shower, wearing only a towel.
“One sorority member walked down the hall to take a shower, wearing only a towel,” the suit describes. “She felt an unsettling presence, turned, and saw Mr. Smith watching her silently.”
In another instance, the suit claims that Langford “had an erection visible through his leggings” while with the other girls.“Other times, he has had a pillow in his lap.” At times, Langford would allegedly just stare at the other girls for hours on end, without saying anything.
The lawsuit further points out that KKG has specific rules, first outlined in 2018, that define the sorority as a “single-gender” organization, subsequently claiming that the University of Wyoming chapter faced pressure from the national KKG sorority, the national council president, and Langford himself to change their rules just to allow him to join.
But the executive director of the sorority, Kari Kittrell Poole, defended Langford’s induction and accused the lawsuit of making “numerous false allegations,” without providing any evidence of her own.
The lawsuit by the seven members asks a judge to revoke Langford’s membership and to award them with as-of-yet unspecified damages.