By Elissa Choi
The Mirror Staff
By Khrista Sayo
The Mirror Staff
“We’re just how we feel about ourselves and maybe the way we lead our lives is just a little bit different. Why do you care what’s in someone’s pants.”
FEATURE
To Pee or Not to Pee
April 20, 2017
FEATURE: Trump interprets the Education Amendment to restrict transgender students from using their preferred restroom facility.
America’s ostracization of the LGBTQ+ community has been further perpetuated by Trump’s unpredictable legislative actions.
The rights of transgender students and their rights to use school facilities should be decided on the state level and not by the federal government, according to President Trump.
He believes that the rights should be decided within the community where parents, administrators, and instructors have an upper-hand in the civil rights of transgender students.
This action overruled Obama’s nondiscrimination policy that allowed students to use their preferred bathroom. The Obama administration has been advocating for transgender rights since the first year of Obama’s first term.
Trump ruled to annul Obama’s extension of Title IX, an amendment to the education bill first signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1972.
Title IX prohibits any kind of sex discrimination in any federally-funded educational program. The Obama Administration had extended the amendment to include the prohibition of discrimination against students who identify with a different gender.
However, Trump’s recent revocation of Obama’s extension of the Title IX amendment has sparked controversy all across various social media platforms. Those in opposition of this ruling chose to advocate for the human civil rights that young transgender students deserve.
Protesters, online and in the streets, cried the mantra, “No hate, no fear, trans students are welcome here.”
They also argue that this is a civil rights issue — not one of state nor federal concern.
The federal government’s intervention in students’ learning experience has led many to believe that Trump’s ruling would place those students in tough positions of social vulnerability.
Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education, even disputed the restriction for she believed it would compromise the protections of transgender students from discrimination, bullying, and harassment.
Those in favor of Trump’s decision, primarily social conservatives, regard this act as preventing sexual predators from entering bathrooms and endangering the children.
This concept is misleading as they assume that the reason for anti-discrimination measures would open opportunity for offenders to easily target transgender and cis-gender children alike.
“We’re trying to use the bathroom. If a pervert wanted to harass you, they’d harass you. You shouldn’t attack someone if they’re transgender. The moment they walk into the bathroom, you shouldn’t say, ‘You’re going to harass me!’ It doesn’t make sense. If someone wanted to harass you, they wouldn’t do it in a bathroom,” said Winter Christie.
However, Title 9 extensions were placed by the Obama administration in order to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment for all students, no matter their sexual identity or orientation.
Title 9 has also allowed for students in California since 2013 to participate in school sports based on his or her identified gender. The expansion of transgender rights for students has allowed for students to feel included in school activities that previously did not allow for opposite genders to participate in.
The extension of transgender rights can also be seen in national organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of America. These organizations have recently added to their policies new guidelines to include transgender scouts.
Gender-neutral bathrooms are already in place in some LAUSD schools, among other school districts. They allow adolescents to access a proper facility in their own schools and to use a bathroom that pertains to their self-identified sex.
Transgender rights in schools and public institutions is a matter of sustaining basic human rights for all students. Failing to provide a public facility to students who identify with a particular gender is a strippage of civil rights.
The acceptance of the transgender community has been a struggle for years. Trump’s revocation of bathroom rights has been an action that negates an entire group of people.
It is vital that this nation protects the rights of cisgendered citizens who deserve equal security under federal and state government laws.
