I chose UCLA because I thought I’d be safe here. As President Trump begins his rampage against the transgender community, I’m beginning to doubt my judgment.
The morning after Trump’s victory, I fell into denial. Of course, I was acutely aware of the potential consequences of a second Trump term on my community: severe restrictions on gender-affirming care, the erosion of Title IX protections and a loss of federal recognition altogether.
But after many months of banking on a Democratic victory – and naively refusing to consider the alternative – reality was the last thing I wanted to face.
In shutting my eyes to what was coming, my coolness chipped away. At the end of my first class after the election, when I went to ask my professor a homework question, I lost my composure and began to weep.
My professor, the mother of a transgender child, was quick to show her support.
“We’ve got to look out for each other,” she said.
Compassion was coming my way from all directions. On Nov. 7, 2024, the UCLA LGBTQ Campus Resource Center sent an email to Bruins titled “Affirming Support for Our LGBTQ+ Community Post-Election.”
In this message, LGBTQ Center Director Vanessa Aviva González-Siegel and Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus Life Mick Deluca stressed UCLA’s dedication to fostering a safe and inclusive environment.
“We want to emphasize that UCLA is your home, a place where you are supported and cared for,” they said in the email.
But when Trump signed an executive order targeting my right to exist on his first day back in office, I wondered how strong my support system really was.
This mandate – “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” – was the first of a slew of anti-trans executive orders attacking everything from gender-affirming care to transgender members of the military.
As the Trump administration continues issuing hostile policies, it becomes increasingly clear that I may lose fundamental civil protections, even on campus. If, as Trump’s day-one order asserts, United States policy only acknowledges two immutable sexes, how much power does UCLA have to ensure I’m “supported and cared for?”
Christy Mallory, the interim executive director and legal director of the Williams Institute – a UCLA School of Law think tank conducting research on sexuality and gender identity policy – explained that this order could affect trans people who have changed their gender marker on federal documents, especially those who have opted for an X marker. She also noted an alternate means of securing accurate identification.
“However, the order does not impact state IDs, so students should consider obtaining state identification that matches their gender if they are able to,” Mallory said in an emailed statement.
The potential of this order to upend trans students’ federal identification raises concern about UCLA’s administrative options. If trans Bruins, especially those from outside the state, find themselves struggling to fly home, what can the university do?
The impact of transphobic policy on low-income and undocumented individuals is even more pressing.
“These folks are less likely to have access to private insurance plans, to be able to move to affirming states, and to have access to resources that would help them navigate issues they may face,” Mallory said in the emailed statement.
As my initial fears heightened, I sought support from the UC administration.
“The University of California will continue to advocate for legislation, policies, and programs that reflect our values, support our mission, and benefit all members of our community, including our trans community,” UC Office of the President spokesperson Stett Holbrook said in an emailed statement. “In line with our Principles of Community, UC remains committed to fostering a safe, supportive, equitable, and responsive environment for everyone we serve.”
When I contacted González-Siegel, hoping for more substantive and actionable information to include in this article, I received the same, cautiously worded UCOP statement.
Of course, it’s relieving to know that UCLA remains on my side, at least in terms of its philosophy.
But even institutions that seemed committed to supporting trans youth have begun to abandon us.
On Feb. 4, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles announced that, in response to Trump’s order targeting gender-affirming care, it would pause taking on new trans patients under 19 seeking hormone therapy.
In response to this decision, the office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a letter to CHLA, noting that there were no immediate threats to the hospital’s funding and that discriminating against transgender patients is against California law.
The news of this unnecessary pause felt deeply personal – I’ve been receiving gender-affirming care from CHLA since I was 13 years old. While I’m safe from these sweeping changes, they represent a profound loss for my community and will surely devastate countless transgender youth in the LA area.
Thankfully, a federal judge temporarily blocked the enforcement of Trump’s gender-affirming care mandate Feb. 13. CHLA only reversed its recent pause Friday, and hospital officials previously expressed hesitancy to do so.
Since the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center also covers gender-affirming healthcare under UC insurance, the goings-on at CHLA are particularly concerning for trans Bruins, and we need whatever information we can get our hands on.
To make matters worse, Trump signed an order Feb. 5 titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” to revoke federal funding from educational programs that allow trans women to participate in women’s athletics.
According to Dr. Juliet Williams, professor of gender studies and chair of the UCLA Social Science Interdepartmental Program, this administration’s consistent focus on “defending” women can more accurately be seen as an effort to preserve an anti-woman status quo.
“That framework – that the major threat facing cis women today is trans women – is a profoundly post-feminist kind of claim,” Williams said. “In other words, it says sexism isn’t a problem anymore.”
If the Trump administration can threaten funding cuts to institutions that provide gender-affirming care and allow trans women to thrive in athletics, what options does UCLA have to protect its trans community?
Now, I don’t mean to imply that trans Bruins deserve answers that have yet to be worked out.
Rather, I urge the university to be transparent about what it knows and does not know and to lean into uncertainty. I’d rather receive bits and pieces of advice than be in the dark entirely.
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