By CHANTAL ALBA
If you haven’t heard, President Trump’s administration announced on Wednesday that it would be rescinding a portion of Title IX, which was issued by the Obama Administration last May, to protect transgender students against discrimination.
According to the Trump Administration, the reason for the rescission was because the Obama-era protection did provide “extensive legal consent” with its positioning in Title IX.
A statement made by the White House said that “As President Trump has clearly stated, he believes policy regarding transgender bathrooms should be decided at the state level, the joint decision made today by the Department of Justice and the Department of Education returning power to the states paves the way for an open and inclusive process to take place at the local level with input from parents, students, teachers and administrators.”
However the Department of Education’s Secretary, Betsy DeVos, did not agree with the decision. DeVos was reportedly “pushed” by both of the departments to signing off on rescinding the policy because they had already decided to move forward.
However, she made a statement agreeing that protecting all students, no matter what gender they identify with or sexuality is a key priority for every school in America, but best solved at the state and local levels.
This is a very easy subject to have mixed views on, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but at the same time everyone is entitled to equal respect and a country that is going fight to keep them safe no matter how they choose to live their lives.
As we plunge further into “Trump’s America,” we need to remember that it is important that we continue to fight the good fight in the most peaceful way possible. What has happened in the past few weeks has set the tone for what will be going on for the next four years, but it is no reason to get discouraged about all the progress we have already made. It’s just time for us to become stronger and stick together like never before to protect those who are not being protected by the system as they should be protected.