Amid recent anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation and rhetoric, how are transgender college students balancing survival with earning a degree?
A New Administration
On Jan. 20 President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14168 identifying two biological sexes—male and female—and banning federal agencies from adhering to self-expressed gender identity. Section 2G of the order states that “‘Gender identity’ reflects a fully internal and subjective sense of self, disconnected from biological reality and sex and existing on an infinite continuum, that does not provide a meaningful basis for identification and cannot be recognized as a replacement for sex.”
The attempted erasure of transgender identity has had many implications across the country; the National Park Service removed references to transgender and queer individuals from the Stonewall National Monument website, replacing “LGBTQ+” with “LGB,” reported NPR in February. The Stonewall Monument honors the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, which protested a police raid of the gay bar, Stonewall Inn; the uprising is considered a landmark event for LGBTQIA+ civil rights.
Now invisible on the monument’s official website, but vital to history, are transgender and queer activists who pioneered the struggle for equal rights – posing the question, How will American queer and trans activists of our generation be remembered?
Florida
Attacks against transgender and queer individuals exceed the federal government. On May 17, 2023, prior to Trump’s second presidential term, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a slate of anti-LGBTQIA+ bills into law. The slate triggered a state travel advisory to the community by Equality Florida, a leading LGBTQIA+ advocacy non-profit. Of the legislative package, House Bill 1521 makes it a crime to use the bathroom unaligned with your sex assigned at birth in public buildings.
In February, HB 1496 ‘Gender Identity Employment Practices,’ a bill that removes transgender workplace protections in public spaces, was proposed. HB 75, ‘Display of Flags by Governmental Entities,’ was also proposed in February, and aimed to ban pride flags from being flown at government buildings and public universities. These bills failed to pass in this year’s Legislative Session.
Perspective – Poena Grow
Poena Grow ‘27 is a transgender woman and president of Kaleidoscope, Stetson’s gender and sexual diversity student organization. Grow notes a mixed reaction to current events within her community. “Some people are choosing to be more cautious of their identities,” she said. “I have seen many people that were involved in Kaleidoscope step away during this administration, but I’ve also seen many want to be more vocal about [their identities].”
She also shares how Trump’s presidency has impacted Kaleidoscope as an organization. Though new legislation caused uncertainty during the spring 2025 semester, Kaleidoscope has navigated legal changes and will continue operating.
Executive Order 14173 ‘Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity’, signed on Jan. 21, enforces new guidelines for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs, requiring broader definitions of inclusivity, which ultimately aim to exclude people of diverse backgrounds. “What is being said is we need to be more inclusive to the larger society,” says Grow on the executive order. “It does not physically change anything about our organization, though.” Kaleidoscope has updated its official documents to reflect that the organization is not exclusively for queer people, in compliance with the executive order. Grow notes that Kaleidoscope will always mention transgender identities in its documents, regardless of legislative changes.
In Fall 2025, Kaleidoscope plans to raise awareness of transgender issues without “ostracizing” LGBTQIA+ members and their allies based on political affiliation. Grow also advocates for more LGBTQIA+ events and visibility on campus.
“[Do not] be scared to be yourself,” said Grow. “Hiding [yourself] away is a lot harder than letting it out, no matter what the climate is, no matter who you’re with.”
Perspective – Sheridan Macon
Sheridan Macon ’26, a transgender man, experiences both supportive and unwelcoming environments on campus.“I found spaces where I can be me without question,” said Macon, referencing Hillel and the English department. “And then spaces where I [have] found that, ‘Oh yeah, no, I’m getting looks,’ — [so] I avoid them.” Macon works as a writing tutor and visits classes to give Writing Center presentations, but he has stopped presenting at the Lynn Business Center. “Business professors consistently misgender me, and I always feel wrong after leaving a business class presentation,” said Macon. “[It’s] like I’m being stared at, like people don’t know what I am or what to make of me.” Macon also avoids certain Greek life organizations.
Macon said he chose Stetson in part because, as a private university, it is less likely to bend to federal regulations as a result of not depending on federal funding. However, Macon finds Stetson’s silence regarding recent LGBTQIA+ student concerns disheartening.
He references the Fall 2024 Involvement Fair, when Stetson’s Young Americans for Freedom student organization distributed anti-trans posters on campus — displaying the transgender pride flag marked with a red thumbs-down and transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney crossed out with a red circle strike-through. The slogan, “Bring Back Real Men,” was printed across the bottom. “It really upset a lot of queer and trans students, and the university didn’t end up speaking up about it,” said Macon. “It just got swept under the rug.”
Macon recognizes the importance of viewpoint diversity, but feels that transgender students deserve to be vocally protected by the university. “A difference in opinion should not justify overt bigotry,” he says. “It would just be nice if a university who has told us time and time again, in more private settings, that they are committed to protecting their minority students, would just say that quiet part out loud.”
Resources:
Trans Lifeline: translifeline.org
The Trevor Project (ages 13–24): Text “START” to 678-678
Kaleidoscope: [email protected]
Student Counseling Services: (386) 822-8900
Cross-Cultural Center (“Tri-C”): 145 E Michigan Ave, DeLand, FL 32724
