Cal Poly Humboldt’s trans community finds determination under the Trump administration

By Griffin Mancuso

1.6 million people over the age of thirteen identify as transgender in the U.S. according to the Williams Institute, making up 1.9% of the U.S. population. This community, despite its size, has been the target of several executive orders and legislative changes within the first few weeks of Donald Trump’s second term as president. 

These executive orders include the government only recognizing two unchangeable sexes — male and female — and requiring all incarcerated transwomen to be moved to men’s prisons, defunding gender-affirming care for anyone under 19, setting the stage for another trans military ban and preventing schools from supporting students who are socially transitioning.

While many groups have filed lawsuits over these executive orders, they have already resulted in changes within federal agencies. U.S. citizens can no longer renew passports with an X gender marker — meant to indicate a non-binary gender identity — or a marker that doesn’t match their assigned sex at birth, and federal employees are required to remove pronouns from their online profiles. Mentions of trans people and public health information related to the trans community are being wiped from government websites.

Reactions from Students

With the frequency of executive orders published by the Trump administration, many trans and queer students have struggled to keep up with the continuous media coverage of them. Ro Meisler, an interdisciplinary studies major, wasn’t surprised by the content or volume of the executive orders but was concerned about the wave of hate against the trans community on social media.

“I think a lot of people are spoon-fed hateful opinions from huge media corporations and are fed a single view of how trans people are corrupting the youth and all this shit,” Meisler said. “But I think most people are not actually hateful people.”

Meisler described trying to balance her emotional well-being and staying informed on the actions of the government.

“I go back and forth between being really up to date and being too overwhelmed and not wanting to be up to date,” Meisler said.

Psychology major Lee Checa Valdez was not only unsurprised, but expressed frustration at the number of voters who didn’t listen to warnings about the potential impact of the executive orders.

“Since before this election, we’ve been telling people to do their research, and no one really listened,” Checa Valdez said. “And trans issues aside, there are things being put in place [that are] affecting lower-class people, middle-class people and a lot of people who did vote for the current president.”

Shock and Awe and the Politicization of the Trans Community

Political officials have introduced an increasing number of anti-trans bills over the last several years. In 2024 alone, 674 bills were proposed targeting trans people in categories like healthcare, education, sports and bathrooms, but only 50 of them passed. Executive orders cannot override existing federal laws, but even when bills or executive orders do not become laws, they can still benefit the politicians behind them.

Loren Cannon, a lecturer in philosophy who specializes in trans and legal theory, described how Trump’s executive orders can curry favor with his voters and political allies.

“What it can be used for is for that politician later to say to constituents who have been bought into this anti-trans rhetoric that, ‘Oh, see, I am against trans people, so you should vote for me,’” Cannon said.

Checa Valdez noticed some similarities between the actions of the Trump administration and dictatorships and fascist regimes throughout history.

“They like to focus on the ‘other than’ group, like black and brown people, queer and trans people, disabled people, is always where they start,” Checa Valdez said. “What a lot of white people don’t realize is that the things that they’re putting in place to get us kicked down further affects them as well in the long run.”

Elias Pence is deeply ingrained in the queer campus community through the Eric Rofes Multicultural Queer Resource Center (ERC), the Gender Diversity Task Force (GDTF), the Queer Student Union (QSU) and as a fellow for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Pence is assisting in the creation of the Queer Center for Academic Excellence (QCAE), which will act as an umbrella for the ERC, GDTF, QSU and host up-to-date information. He also emphasized how he doesn’t want to alarm students and instead wants to focus on helping them protect their peace.

“What we’re facing is people trying to scare and demoralize us by flooding the zone with shit, right?” Pence said. “We need help parsing it out and seeing, you know, what do we need to move on? What do we need to be afraid of? You know, who is most impacted by these things, and what sort of resources can we muster?”

Response and Resistance

On a national level, several groups have filed lawsuits in response to Trump’s executive orders. For instance, the executive order targeting federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender youth was blocked by a federal judge’s ruling in Seattle on Feb. 28. Organizations like GLAD Law, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union have already joined the growing collection of lawsuits.

In Humboldt, many groups on campus are adjusting their resources to offer additional support and respite for trans and queer students. In response to the executive orders, the ERC has started hosting more events for students to relax and find community, along with providing more political updates and resources in their newsletter. Ayan Cabot, Outreach Director for the ERC, described how he and other staff are adjusting to meet students’ needs.

“I think the most important thing that I always encourage within our staff is to just listen,” Cabot said. “I think that’s the best thing we can do, instead of imposing our ideas or beliefs onto the students. I think a lot of students sometimes just really need to decompress and feel other thoughts.”

The LGBTQ+ organizations on campus host a variety of resources that students can use, including a gender-affirming closet, mental health resources, events and more. One of Pence’s goals with the future QCAE is to provide additional resources to trans and queer students with intersectional identities.

“[We’ll be] cognizant of that and making sure that we’re not artificially separating issues, right?” Pence said. “If you’re trans and undocumented in your body, those things exist, we can’t separate it. It’d be like cutting you in half.”

Pence is hopeful for the new resources available through the queer cultural centers and admires the bravery and resilience of the queer community on campus. He appreciates the support of admin like Chrissy Holliday and Jenn Capps and also encourages others to use their privilege to assist in that effort.

“It’s tough to acknowledge your privilege and flex it,” Pence said. “Now’s the time to flex it — flex it for someone who doesn’t have it. You know that bravery that you’ve got in your pocket? Be there for someone else, step up for someone else, protect someone else, make someone else feel seen.”

Eduardo Cruz, newly appointed A.S. president and liaison for the ERC, is working with the ERC to develop a resolution supporting trans rights and resources through the California State University system in response to Trump’s executive orders.

“I would feel like it’s really important to always reinforce [trans] rights and the protections here on campus, and regardless of who’s in administration,” Cruz said. “We’re gonna fight hard to protect their rights, and that they will be heard and that they’ll be seen, and that there’s a place for them on this campus.”

While many groups and individuals on campus are working to provide more security for trans students, Cannon emphasized the importance of finding support within community and self-care due to the uncertainty of the future under the Trump administration.

“We gotta realize this could be for the long haul, right?” Cannon said. “This could be two years of dealing with really worrisome news every day, or it could be 12. We gotta stay the course. Organize, stay the course and make sure we feed those parts of ourselves that need feeding as we go through this because it is serious, right? People are going to be writing books about this for years to come.”