NYU is no longer safe under President Donald Trump’s second administration, as a wave of executive orders have left a visible mark on the university community. Just days after Trump’s transphobic executive order prohibiting gender-affirming care for children under 19 years old, NYU Langone Health made the disturbing decision to cancel gender-affirming care for two children, joining a handful of other medical institutions across the country in cancelling appointments for related treatments. Despite more than 1,000 protesters demanding an explanation, the hospital has remained silent on the decision, worrying trans and non-binary students who will bear the brunt of these policies.
While NYU, as a private university, is not legally bound to federal policies the way public institutions are, that doesn’t mean it is immune to Trump’s directives. 54% of NYU’s research funding comes from federal sources, meaning the university is particularly vulnerable to Trump’s orders that threaten to cut funding to institutions that provide gender-affirming care to children or allow trans athletes to compete in sports.
“Institutions in New York have a legal obligation to comply with state law and ignore this heinous executive order,” said Clark Wolff Hamel, the acting executive director of the New York City chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of LGBTQ+ People.
New York Civil Liberties Union Assistant Legal Director Bobby Hodgson holds a similar stance.
“This is not a new law,” Hodgson said. “It doesn’t have the force of law. In fact, it doesn’t even change the existing regulations that our federal agencies run under.”
This executive order is part of a larger effort to force adherence to the gender binary ideology. In a campaign speech, Trump said that he “will take historic action to defeat the toxic poison of gender ideology and reaffirm that God created two genders, male and female.”
Trump’s alt-right agenda is set to undo the years of progress made through LGBTQ+ activism and create a very scary and limiting reality for trans and non-binary people in the United States. For example, trans and non-binary students will lose easy access to all-gender facilities on a day to day basis. Non-binary individuals have lost the ability to request their gender marker to be an “X” on passports and other legal documents. Those who already have the “X” on their passport can face difficulty accessing federal resources and traveling internationally. Trans people are likely to face barriers to joining the military and the job market, as well as face increased discrimination and hate crimes.
Trump has already rescinded several of the Biden administration’s policies protecting trans rights and changed “gender” to “sex” on all government forms.
In moments of crisis, students hoped that the university would make a clear statement and take direct action to support some of its most vulnerable students. But time and again, NYU’s public response — especially in moments of student-led activism, like the recent pro-Palestinian protests — have created more frustration than reassurance. The university’s statements are vague, its actions often contradict its words and now it has fallen silent altogether. On the issue of gender-affirming care, the silence from NYU President Linda Mills has been devastating. Instead of a firm declaration of support for the trans community, the university has updated its website with a vague commitment to “comply with the law” — a statement that avoids clarity or confrontation with the very real threat that the Trump administration poses to its LGBTQ+ students.
The decision to refrain from comment is shaped by the university’s president, spokespeople and a board of trustees with their own interests in mind. Their idea of safety is shaped by liability and reputation, not student well-being. Their silence is a betrayal to the students they have long claimed to support.
As NYU chooses silence and inaction, students must raise their voices and demand the protections they need. Students must demand that NYU denounce homophobia in all its forms and prioritize inclusivity and acceptance over political convenience. This begins with continuing to protest and organize — the louder students are, the more untenable silence becomes for the university. Supporting our peers during these times is crucial as well. LGBTQ+ safe spaces are critical to help students mitigate the fallout from Trump’s policies. We cannot let these spaces and protection slip away without a word. If the administration is to remain passive toward the dangers posed by the Trump administration, we as students cannot afford to be so too.
WSN’s Opinion section strives to publish ideas worth discussing. The views presented in the Opinion section are solely the views of the writer.
Contact Petunia Hu at [email protected].
