Title IX is Outdated. Ignoring That Won’t Help

Content warning: sexual assault

Loyola announced an update Jan. 13 to its policy toward sex discrimination and sexual misconduct in compliance with a Jan. 9 ruling by a federal judge. The ruling, issued by Chief Judge Danny C. Reeves of the Eastern District of Kentucky, reversed the Biden administration’s effort to expand Title IX protections for transgender students.

Like most U.S. institutions of higher education, federal funding makes up a large chunk of Loyola’s budget. Loyola has to comply with federal laws — including Judge Reeves’ decision — to keep this funding. It’s disappointing, though, to see no resistance from a school whose core values include cura personalis and social justice.

Title IX isn’t the only safeguard for trans students. Trans people are protected by the Illinois Human Rights Act, and more statewide protections are expected in reaction to President Donald Trump’s second term, according to The Chicago Sun-Times. Additionally, Loyola has programs and resources for trans students, even if those resources are sometimes difficult to navigate.

But Loyola’s email announcing this update was, to say the least, lacking in urgency. Tucked between vague paragraphs about the policy, one sentence stuck out.

“For most students and employees, this change will have little to no impact,” the email read.

I don’t mean to fearmonger or sensationalize this issue, but brushing over the impact this could have on me, along with other trans students, leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

Biden’s additions to Title IX, introduced in April 2024, broadened the definition of sex discrimination to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. This meant stronger protections for LGBTQ+ students, who weren’t explicitly included in the initial the legislation.

When Title IX was enacted in 1972, women still couldn’t apply for a credit card without approval from a husband or male relative. Homosexuality was still considered a mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association. Trans people were — and still are — labeled as deviants, monsters and predators.

Judge Reeves’ ruling isn’t just a blow to trans students like me, it’s also an attack on something conservatives claim to protect — the American family.

Biden’s revisions to Title IX added protections for pregnant students and parents. More than three million students raise children while attending college, making up nearly one-fifth of undergraduates in the United States as of 2023, according to the American Council on Education. Severing accommodations for millions of parents is hardly pro-family.

Societal attitudes toward women and LGBTQ+ people have changed. Our understandings of gender, sex and sexuality have evolved and adapted with new scientific discoveries, like the variable nature of sex chromosomes. Why can’t the law reflect this?

Despite the right wing’s insistence on an all-out culture war, this debate was never about pronouns or pregnancy or protecting women. This debate is about either sticking with the past or sticking up for a better tomorrow.

After Trump’s inauguration, the future of transgender rights — at least for the next four years — feels bleak. Throughout his third presidential campaign, Trump perfected the narrative of culture war, of cool-headed conservatism opposite wokeness gone mad. Trans people were merely a convenient pawn for him to use — and it worked.

So no, this issue won’t have “little to no impact” on students, faculty and staff. Although Loyola has further protections for transgender students, our campus isn’t a vacuum separate from the rest of the world. Trump has been crystal clear — his second term will be anti-trans.