Being There — MATH VALUES

By Kira Hamman, Joseph Fields, and Rick Gillman

The Mathematical Association of America’s decision to hold MAA MathFest in Tampa in spite of Florida legislation hostile to many members was the subject of a robust, and necessary, discussion prior to the meeting. And now the meeting is over. What were the experiences of those who made the decision to be there, particularly those whose identities are targeted by the recent legislation? How did our colleagues who live and work in the state respond to our presence there? And what about the broader community, in Tampa and beyond?

To begin answering those questions, we set out to talk to meeting attendees with as many different perspectives as the three of us reasonably could. We should note that this was an unscientific process, consisting of brainstorming names of people to talk to and getting recommendations from them for further interviewees. This was in no way intended to be random or unbiased, although we did attempt to get broad representation. What we found was, unsurprisingly, a wide range of experiences. Nevertheless, some common themes emerged, as did some common concerns and some open questions.

MAA President Hortensia Soto was in many ways the public face of MathFest in Tampa, and as such was the target of much criticism. Asked if coming to Tampa was the right decision, Soto was silent for a moment. “Yes,” she finally said quietly. Soto is a Mexican woman, and the rich Hispanic heritage in Tampa was an important part of her original support for holding the meeting there back when the site was selected in 2018. That decision predates the current political environment, and the pull of such a richly diverse community is still strong for her. “I feel like we were standing in solidarity with people who live there,” Soto said, adding that the MAA was acting as a sort of “support group” for people in Florida who have been targeted by the state’s legislation. Soto pointed to the large number of people and organizations dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights and academic freedom who were represented at MathFest, and to the gratitude many of them expressed publicly for the platform provided to them by the MAA.

Jane Castor, Tampa’s openly gay mayor, is one such person. Castor’s impassioned remarks at the opening session of MathFest highlighted the city’s commitment to diversity, calling it “unwavering” even in the face of “policy decisions in Tallahassee.” She takes pride in the fact that the MAA chose Tampa for MathFest, she said.

The professional organization Out in STEM (oSTEM), which had a booth in the exhibits, is another example. After the meeting, oSTEM posted on social media thanking the MAA for “showing a true commitment to creating a more inclusive environment, even in the face of challenges.” The post noted with happy surprise the large number of MathFest attendees wearing rainbow flags and stopping by the oSTEM booth to pick up pronoun stickers. Tellingly, though, the post also noted some unpleasant interactions, “even among well-educated mathematicians.”

Other recent Florida legislation has been hostile toward academic freedom. Bill Wood, an MAA member and alumnus of New College of Florida, “particularly appreciated that MathFest opened with a panel on higher ed in Florida featuring Patricia Okker, the president of New College who was fired” in January by a board of trustees newly appointed by governor Ron DeSantis. Other panelists included Irene Mulvey, president of the AAUP and a mathematician, and Kevin Knudson, chair of the mathematics department at the University of Florida.

The presence of these people and organizations was significant for a number of people we talked to, some of whom had been on the fence about attending MathFest in the first place. “I almost didn't come, due to the number of people who wouldn't be able to travel to Florida safely,” said Owen Biesel, who recently completed Project NExT. “Seeing the outpouring of love and support for queer folk at MathFest was bittersweet—such a joy, but at the same time missing everyone who couldn't receive it. I was ultimately glad to be there but I'm still not sure I made the right choice in coming.”

Biesel’s conflicted feelings were echoed by current Project NExT fellow Pup Horst. Horst, who is visibly transgender and uses the pronouns xe/xem/xyr, called MathFest “a safe and welcoming environment.” At the same time, Horst said, “that doesn’t mean attending was a casual experience for me.” Xe related staying inside the convention center and the conference hotels for almost the entire meeting due to concerns about safety and Florida laws governing healthcare for transgender people. If xe were hurt, xe wondered, “would EMTs refuse to perform medical care for me?”

Ron Buckmire, who was at MathFest to give the NAM David Blackwell lecture and identifies as an openly gay African American man of West Indian/Caribbean descent, “always intended to be in Tampa for as short a time as possible.” Buckmire gave two invited talks in his 30-hour visit. While he believes that “MAA was stuck with the decision to hold MathFest in Tampa,” and moving the conference would have been financially devastating for the organization, he also hopes there is more planning regarding how to mitigate the harmful effects of holding the 2024 meeting in Indiana, another state with a hostile political climate.

“I love that the community took us to task and challenged us to do better,” said Cheryl Adams, MAA’s Director of Meetings and Member Relations. Adams was the force behind bringing MathSafe, a program initiated by the Joint Policy Board of Mathematics that trains volunteers to intervene in instances of harassment, to the meeting. “As an African American woman, feelings about representation, about feeling safe and seen, happen at every MathFest for me,” she said. “But I see MAA working towards inclusivity, and I’m proud to be a part of this association. We’re doing the work, and we’re going to keep doing it.”

And if there is one commonality that emerged from all our conversations, it is that. We love the MAA. It’s our community, our home. And we have work to do.

As Pup Horst put it, “We know things will likely not be great in Indiana next year. I wish I had the answers - I wish I knew the formula that perfectly predicts where it will be safe for all of our members years in advance. I wish I could say MAA was definitely in the wrong or definitely in the right for having kept MathFest 2023 in Florida. More than anything, I wish I didn’t have to answer these questions in the first place, I wish none of us had to. But to quote one of our own, it’s not my fault, but it is my responsibility.”

Kira Hamman is the chair of the MAA Council on Communities and an Assistant Teaching Professor in Mathematics at Penn State Mont Alto. She has been attending MathFest since 2001.

Joe Fields is a Professor of Mathematics at Southern Connecticut State University and former chairperson of the Northeastern Section of MAA.

Rick Gillman is a Senior Research Professor at Valparaiso University and has been a member of the MAA for more than 40 years. Over that time, he has served in many roles both in the MAA and the university.