For some transgender college students, the question of where to go with issues of injustice could soon become more complicated.
In October, the New York Times reported on a memo in which the Trump administration seeks to define gender as a person’s sex at birth. That’s a reversal from federal policy under the Obama administration. Without this protection, college students could be more vulnerable to discrimination, at least on some campuses.
Niko Coleman is in his third year at Western Michigan University. He is in year two of his transition, the entirety of which has taken place while Coleman is involved with his studies.
“I feel comfortable here, especially coming from the small town that I graduated from. Western has definitely been a breath of fresh air for me. This is where I have the resources to do my transition with Sindecuse (Health Center). This has definitely been… you know I’d call it a saving grace, you know, for me,” Coleman says.
Western senior Danielle Kropveld, who works within the Office of LGBT Student Services says that students like them are lucky to have the resources and support that they do, such as identity-specific groups like Trans Thursdays, which are hosted weekly.
“Essentially we think of a topic every single week that has to deal with transfolks, last week we talked about sex and sexuality, we talked about the memo when it happened, sometimes we talk about resources. It’s a social group, it’s a trans-only space, if you’re cis or gender conforming, you cannot be there,” Kropveld says.
For Kropveld, having a space to call their own when students like them are often excluded from the narrative is very important.
“We’re a group of folks that don’t get to talk a lot, we get our voice overshadowed by so many folks, and it’s just a good opportunity to talk about our own issues, in our own community, in a place where people understand,” Kropveld says.
Under the Obama administration, the federal government moved to protect transgender students’ rights. It did so partly with Title IX, the law that bans discrimination on college campuses based on sex. Obama-era rulemakers saw Title IX’s protections as including transgender students. But the Trump administration has taken the opposite approach. In October the New York Times reported that health officials want to define a person’s gender as the sex they are born with. That leaves no room for people whose gender identity does not match their sex at birth, including transgender students.
“These are dangerous actions that send a clear message to those who wish to discriminate, those who wish to mistreat, and frankly those who wish to attack students based on their gender identity or sexual orientation,” says Sarah McBride, press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign in Washington, DC, a group that advocates for LGBTQ civil rights.
If the Trump administration moves forward with the proposed wording, McBride sees students taking cases to the Supreme Court, arguing for protection under federal civil rights law.
“The reality remains that a growing consensus of federal courts have held that sex protections include discrimination against transgender people. So nothing the administration can do can change that fact, that transgender students continue to be protected by federal civil rights law.”
McBride says schools and universities can take steps on their own to be inclusive and welcoming environments to students who may be feeling forgotten at this time. Some already have their own anti-discrimination policies. Even if the definition of gender changes at the national level, Title IX coordinator Felicia Crawford says Western will continue to protect transgender students.
“Our non-discrimination policy includes gender identity. We don’t intend to change that.”
Crawford says Western did not follow the federal government when the Trump administration rescinded the transgender bathroom guidance in February 2017, which directed public schools and institutions to allow students to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity.
“We seek to certainly protect our students from all forms of discrimination, we want to protect all students,” Crawford added.
Students like Krystina Edwards are very aware that discrimination against transgender people isn’t just talk or theory, but life and death. Edwards spoke at Western’s Transgender Day of Remembrance in November. It’s an annual vigil that honors the transgender lives lost each year. According to LGBTQ advocacy group OutFront Kalamazoo, in 2018, 22 people were killed due to their gender identity.
“I’ve seen so many of my black trans sisters die at the hands of black men. I’ve seen trans women harassed, sexually assaulted, abused emotionally, verbally, physically, and this was all in 10 years,” Edwards said.
The Times reports that the Trump administration could move forward with its definition of gender before the end of the year, though it’s likely the change wouldn’t take effect until after a review from the Justice Department. For now, students will have to wait for the president’s next move regarding their identities.
