President Eisgruber ’83 and other higher-education leaders have called on Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to prevent the withdrawal of PROTECTIONS FOR TRANSGENDER STUDENTS under Title IX. The action came in response to reports of a proposed policy change by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that would define sex as male or female, determined by a person’s genitalia at birth, removing legal protection for transgender students. In a Nov. 1 letter, Eisgruber, Rutgers President Robert Barchi, and University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank argued that Title IX protects the rights of transgender individuals, an interpretation essential to protecting students from discrimination, isolation, and harassment on university campuses. The reported proposal by HHS “would have the effect of rolling back important protections against discrimination on the basis of gender and gender identity,” they wrote.
Judy Jarvis, director of the LGBT Center, said the University has formed a working group to consider actions if the proposed policies go into effect, and said Princeton’s current policies and resources will remain the same.