Title IX Revision Concerns PEA Community
“I’ve talked to a lot of people [that] are feeling emotionally drained and exhausted. It’s hard to not know whether you’ll have legal protections...or if you’ll be denied housing or a job,” senior and Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) co-head Elliot Diaz said. “It’s been hard to fully commit myself to Exeter when I’m unsure about the future for my life and the people that I care about.”
Three years ago, Exeter got rid of its heteronormative dress code. Two years ago, it introduced all-gender dorms. It has since reaffirmed its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, but in the backdrop of such strides in the Exeter community, national policies undermine the rights of transgender people.
“The administration is too careful about being neutral,” [Sarah Hardcastle] said. “For a lot of people, this campus is their safe space. Why can’t we take a stronger stance?”
Under the Trump administration’s proposal, the term “transgender” could be defined out of existence. The Department of Health and Human Services is spearheading a re-definition of Title IX, the federal law protecting against education discrimination based on sex as applicable to only “the biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth.”
If the Justice Department passes the proposal, students will be unable to file federal civil rights claims of discrimination when facing bias against their transgender identity. Key government agencies would not recognize an individual’s gender change unless they undergo genetic testing. The Trump administration began repealing protections for transgender people with the 2017 rescission of Title IX’s Guidance on the Treatment of Transgender Student.
“I am wholeheartedly opposed [to the new proposal],” LGBTQ+ Coordinator Joanne Lembo said. “For those of you reading this who are afraid—know that I, among many others on campus, have your back and will not stop fighting for you until all the work is done.”
During Tuesday’s assembly, Interim Principal Bill Rawson ’71 responded to concerns about the rights of transgender students on campus. “We don’t look to national laws to determine our values,” Rawson said. “We will not tolerate the mistreatment of transgender people.”
Nonetheless, this new development has stirred fear and outrage for some members of the Exeter community.
“[The proposal] is horrifying,” GSA adviser Alex Myers ’96 said. For the past 25 years, Myers, the first transgender student at PEA, has written and given speeches at schools around the country to promote the understanding of gender as separate from but related to biological sex. He is especially concerned about the proposal’s impact on already marginalized students, especially those who reside in states without protection for transgender students. “As always, for those on the margins, the impact will be greater. It will be harder for them to be who they are,” he said.
On Monday, GSA advisers Joanne Lembo and Heidi Carrington Heath sent emails to club members. Diaz called for a meeting Tuesday night to process the news.
In addition to discussions within the club, Lembo encouraged any student not feeling safe to “reach out to a trusted adult, a mental health counselor, a proctor or student listener or a friend.”
Upper John Doe*, who identifies as transgender, expressed that this new change compounded the difficulties of being transgender. Doe noted that class introductions were a challenging aspect of being a transgender student, particularly when teachers don’t ask students to state their pronouns. “You have to be the one saying ‘let’s do pronouns.’ It can really make you feel like an outsider,” he said.
Diaz also recognized that Exeter could provide more support to transgender students regardless of Title IX because it is a private school. “I feel very stressed about all my friends who are in public schools that don’t let them use a bathroom that feels comfortable or safe for them,” he said.
In a similar vein, for upper Janalie Cobb, the news only served to reinforce her resolution to work hard and “reverse any damage that’s done” using the privilege of an Exeter education. “To me, it’s another layer in a cake the Trump administration has been baking since the election,” she said. “I’m mad, yes, but I don’t find it helpful to be riled up about something that’s essentially already been done.”
Upper Pepper Pieroni, on the other hand, described his initial reaction to the news as that of disbelief. “I’m still trying to process it,” he said. Pieroni, who is also the co-head of Republican Club, stressed how this is not a political issue. “It’s a human issue. It doesn’t matter what political party you’re in—natural rights shouldn’t be taken from humans,” he said.
As a community, Exeter needs to act in a way that’s “unequivocal with our morals and our values,” senior Vinny Kurup said. Kurup, founder and Editor-in-Chief of MVMENT Magazine, an outlet for students to discuss gender and sexuality inequities. “In charged times like this, it’s important to be direct in saying that we are an anti-transphobic institution,” he said.
Senior Sarah Hardcastle shared similar sentiments and believes that Exeter needs to take more action to assist transgender students. “The administration is too careful about being neutral,” they said. “For a lot of people, this campus is their safe space. Why can’t we take a stronger stance?”
At assembly, Rawson distinguished between human rights and political opinions. “I’m very comfortable making strong statements about this community,” he said. “I’d be less inclined to make overtly political statements about what’s happening in Washington.” Rawson agreed with students, however, that more action is needed. “We will not tolerate the mistreatment of transgender people—that’s an easy statement to make. It’s a shared responsibility for all of us to bring about action.”
Discussions surrounding the new proposal have spurred a re-examination of the school’s support systems for transgender students, which Myers described as “a work in progress.” He expressed his advocacy for the treatment of all students “as students…no separate rules for girls and boys (and non binary), no separate standards for gay and straight and bi/pan.” “To move towards a school where every student has the chance at a similar experience, not vastly affected by their gender—that would be huge,” he said.
Conscious of the identity struggles that transgender students go through, Diaz advocated for more mental health resources tailored to the transgender community’s needs. “Especially with an uncertain future, it can be really hard for trans youth, especially if they don’t have an established support system, to envision a future as a happy trans adult.”
Pieroni called for more conversation throughout the entire school about the proposal, perhaps during Community Time. “I wish the dialogue was more widespread instead of being concentrated in groups of people who are trans or transitioning,” he said.
In uncertain times, Diaz hopes to rely on support within the Exeter community. “If you know a trans person on campus, just give them a hug,” he said. “Just have an outpour of love.”