Jackson Barrick, an upcoming senior at the University of Minnesota and a member of Young America’s Foundation (YAF), said he fears that one slip of the tongue to the wrong person about gender identity could get him expelled.
“It’s a bit of an issue to have to consciously think about whether I’m going to be academically disciplined for the next sentence I’m gonna say, because someone subjectively feels hurt by that,” he told The Epoch Times.
YAF is a conservative organization that focuses on educating high school and college students about individual freedom, free-market economics, constitutional government, and traditional values.
The university’s policy on harassment, he said, is subjective and affects YAF students significantly more than others.
That prompted YAF to file a lawsuit on June 18 in U.S. District Court, arguing that the policies compel students to call transgender students by their preferred pronouns and bar students and guests from using biological terms to refer to transgender students.
“But the First Amendment does not allow universities, of all places, to restrict student speech just because others disagree with or dislike it,” the lawsuit contends.
Named defendants include the university president and board members. The complaint seeks a permanent injunction to stop university officials from enforcing the policies and asks for $1 in damages plus attorney fees.
The university told The Epoch Times that it was unable to comment on pending litigation.
The lawsuit alleges the university has restricted speech through policies on “hostile environment sexual harassment” and “discriminatory harassment.” The policy also requires “preferred” pronoun usage by students and guests.
Attorney Kimberly Hermann—president of the Southeastern Legal Foundation, which filed the suit on behalf of YAF—said not only are students afraid to speak, but the rule also prevents YAF student members from bringing certain speakers to campus.
For example, Chloe Cole, a detransitioner who frequently speaks at YAF events, wouldn’t be allowed to speak about her experiences without risk for student organizers, Hermann told The Epoch Times.
The Administrative Sexual Harassment Policy defines sex to include gender identity and gender expression. Those rules, the complaint contends, have a chilling effect on free speech for YAF student members “expressing their opinions on gender identity and transgender issues both on and off campus.”
Students fear expressing viewpoints such as there are only two sexes, that men don’t belong in women’s sports or bathrooms, or that a man cannot get pregnant, the lawsuit stated.
Hermann said that in the past two years, nearly 20 complaints have been filed against students who have made statements potentially related to biological sex. None involved YAF students.
She told The Epoch Times the university keeps the details of the complaints and punishments confidential.
“If anyone who has a belief in biological sex dares to speak their belief … they could be expelled from the school, and this policy is used and enforced against students,” Hermann said.
Additionally, the policy doesn’t excuse students who may simply use the wrong pronoun by mistake.
Other cases involving pronoun use and equating gender identity with sex have paved the way for such lawsuits.
In 2024, the Department of Education under the Biden administration unsuccessfully attempted to redefine sex under Title IX to include gender identity and prohibit students from voicing opinions protecting women’s sports and women’s private spaces in schools. The policy attempted to force students to use “preferred” pronouns instead of biological pronouns to refer to individuals identifying as transgender.
The courts struck down the rule on First Amendment grounds, and the final rule was deemed unconstitutional, which YAF cites in its challenge.
“This case has the ability to set a huge precedent for the entire country. When we ultimately win this case, which I believe that we will ... that’s going to be a warning signal to all,” Hermann said.
“There’s nothing in it for these students other than standing up for the Constitution, which I think is a huge thing,” she said.
But the free-speech battle continues in K-12 schools and colleges, she said, noting that a similar lawsuit had been filed this month against a California school.
“This is a problem that we see on campuses across the entire country,” she said.
