By: Connor Lālea Hampton, Jan. 28, 2025
Cal Poly Pomona administration is committed to protecting the rights of transgender students despite President Donald Trump’s executive order, issued after his inauguration speech Jan. 19, that the United States government will recognize only two genders, male and female.
Newly appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed the State Department to suspend issuing passports with an “X” sex marker, while the guidance on existing travel documents that already contain the “X” designation will be additionally provided. Trump also signed an executive order banning transgender womenfrom U.S. prisons and ended gender-affirming medical treatments for transgender inmates.
CPP’s Title IX coordinator Dawnita Franklin said transgender protections remain in place on campus and transgender students will still be able to use the bathroom and participate in sports that correlate with their gender.
“Trans students will still be protected and have equal access to all CPP programs, activities and spaces,” Franklin said.
President Trump’s anti-trans measures came after the recent overturn of protections for transgender students under Title IX when Chief Judge Danny Reeves of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky rejected the Biden administration’s new Title IX protections entirely.
Title IX is a federal civil rights law that protects individuals from discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities and is well known for its protections for transgender students. All public schools, private schools, colleges, universities and even school districts that receive federal funds are required to comply with Title IX, including CPP.
In April 2024, the Biden administration rewrote Title IX rules to also prohibit discrimination on the basis ofgender and sexual orientation, along with added protections for pregnancy, lactation and the investigative processes. Since then, it has been the subject of many legal challenges on the basis the changes exceed the department’s authority. Twenty-six states, excluding California, put the rule on hold, which prevented the U.S. Department of Education from enforcing the changes in those states.
“We are currently working with the CSU Office of Civil Rights on additional guidance on the new changes and will be reaffirming our commitment to providing a safe and welcoming environment where all students can thrive free from all forms of discrimination and harassment,” Franklin said.
She said transgender protections remain in place under CSU Policy and that allegations of discrimination and harassment on the basis of gender, gender identity and gender expression should still be reported.
“The current interim nondiscrimination policy is still in effect, and transgender students are still able to report discrimination under the policy,” Franklin added.
However, for August Mehner, a biology student who uses the pronouns they, the consequences for this change in policy aren’t just legal, but emotional. They said they were not surprised to see the Title IX protections for trans students get reversed.
“Still, my heart sank,” Mehner said. “When you see headlines like that and anti-trans rhetoric come out of the mouth of prominent political leaders, it instills fear for your safety.”
Mehner said it reinforces internalized transphobia, a term used to describe the feelings of shame and guilt a person experiences after internalizing society’s gender expectations, according to the National Institutes of Health.
“Even if we live in a ‘safe’ state, these are still laws upheld in our country, and people that I encounter at school could agree with these laws,” said Mehner. “I personally haven’t experienced violence in my day-to-day life, but I know people who support these kinds of laws and criticize my identity behind my back. Even if someone isn’t violent, it’s scary to sit next to someone who believes that by existing you’re pushing some radical gender ideology.”
In a study conducted by the Trevor Project, a non-profit, suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ individuals, researchers found that anti-transgender laws caused up to a 72% increase in the number of suicide attempts, along with a 49% increase in trans and nonbinary young people who made at least one attempt in 2023.
Joshua Salazar, the pride student identity development and education coordinator at CPP, said the Pride Center will remain a brave space.
“I can’t say that things aren’t going to change for better or worse in the next year, but something that remains a constant is the way that I show up for students and give myself to students — that will never change,” said Salazar. “My primary role as the coordinator of a safe space for students is that I remain constant in their lives, regardless of what happens geo-politically…Often, our students are carrying so much that it impacts their ability to be successful. My job is to support them in alleviating some of that weight so that they can focus more on why they are here — to graduate.”
Feature image courtesy of Connor Lālea Hampton
