Over the past few months, the Trump administration has made itself clear: they want the wholesale erasure of transgender and gender non-conforming people (GNC) from public life. And it’s starting with the misguided hysteria over the manufactured threat of trans athletes. The beginning of this administration has been marked by several anti-LGBTQ+ executive orders ranging from the declaration of solely two gender identities to the rollback of various gender-affirming policies, all of which have been celebrated by known “gender-critical activists.” Policies such as these put transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals, such as myself, directly at risk in the workplace, in public, and by the government.

On February 5, 2025, President Trump took another harmful step in rolling back LGBTQ+ civil rights with the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order. During the signing of this executive order, the President was flanked on both sides by young girls as he stated, “With this executive order the war on women’s sports is over,” a sentiment that many states have already been echoing for years. The war on trans girls and women in sports has dominated the news cycle for years, often taking center stage within Republican talking points — positioning transgender people as a massive threat to American families.

The Continuous and Deliberate Attacks on Trans Students

Last year, Republicans spent roughly $116 million dollars on ads featuring trans athletes and the consistent fearmongering is working. After years of targeting trans youth and millions of dollar spent, recent polls indicate that there is a growing majority of American adults who believe that transgender women and girls should be barred from participating in sports that align with their gender identity. However, transgender people comprise only 1% of the American population, and within the NCAA, the percentage is even smaller. Of the 520,000 current NCAA athletes, there are only 10 transgender athletes — that is 0.00001% of all college athletes.

Transgender youth are facing the brunt of this full-scale attack, with the Trevor Project reporting a 72% rise in suicide attempts amongst transgender and GNC youth. Extracurriculars are an integral part of a student’s social, emotional, and academic development that can help with a student’s sense of belonging and community — sports leagues and teams being one of the most prominent offered within our schools. The Trump administration and their allies are trying to take a pillar of support away from transgender youth, and they’re getting away with it. If the Trump administration continues down their current path, transgender youth will continue to feel alienated and more trans youth will die. This is not the future I want for my community and more of our so-called LGBTQ+ allies need to speak out and defend transgender youth.

Maine Takes a Stand

Many states have already laid the groundwork for banning trans girls and women from participating in sports that align with their gender identity; other states have cowered. However, the governor of Maine has defied the Trump administration’s executive order and made her case clear: transgender girls and women belong in the sports leagues that are consistent with their gender identity. “See you in court,” Gov. Janet Mills replied when Trump publicly asked her to comply.

Of the 520,000 current NCAA athletes, there are only 10 transgender athletes — that is 0.00001% of all college athletes.

Maine, much like Harvard, is resisting the Trump administration’s war on the LGBTQ+ community. Maine’s response to the Trump administration is a crucial act of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community and a prime example of how other states can follow suit to further protect transgender youth. Right now, transgender youth need their states to fight for them and their rights.

In response, the Trump administration has announced that it will pull all federal education funding from Maine’s public schools — cutting millions of dollars in P-12 funding for schools in the state. Maine is currently the primary target, and if the Trump administration follows through with cutting P-12 funding, then every state should be worried. And if that is the case, they should join Maine in defending the LGBTQ+ community.

Maine is the Test Case

Trump is making an example of Maine, but it goes further than just enforcing an executive order. The Department of Education is claiming that the Maine Department of Education is in violation of Title IX discrimination policy by allowing a transgender athlete to participate in a sports league that is aligned with their gender identity; however, Maine’s anti-discrimination policy protects transgender students — the Trump administration is challenging that. The administration’s usage of Title IX to target marginalized groups will not just be a one-time use on Maine; this is a test to repurpose Title IX to carry out large scale discrimination policy across all states without any form of oversight or will trample on anyone’s civil rights.

Maine is currently a test case for how much power the Trump administration can exert to dismantle various pillars of diversity, equity, and inclusion within our education systems — and LGBTQ+ students are the current targets. The administration’s current usage of Title IX has already emboldened states to take further action against LGBTQ+ students, such as the case in Florida where a high school teacher was fired for using a student’s preferred name instead of their legal name. Previously, the OCR would have been utilized to contest and ensure that cases of discrimination, such as this, are properly handled and addressed; but now the OCR only emboldens acts of discrimination.

Our nation is on a similar path as we were on with the bathroom bans in 2015, but this new path has compromised our tools for ensuring student safety, wellbeing, and equal treatment — they are being used against us. The attacks on LGBTQ+ students are only the beginning and we will continue to see misuses of Title IX and the Office of Civil Rights unless states stand up to the political bullying. Currently, Maine is a prime example of allyship and leadership; we need more states and leaders to fight back against the administration’s attacks on our most vulnerable students.