Princeton University’s “gender-neutral” bathroom policy has reportedly left some women on campus feeling “scared” in one of the few spaces they’ve considered a “safe haven,” according to a new federal complaint.
The parental rights group Defending Education filed a complaint last week against Princeton University with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, accusing the university of violating Title IX civil rights law by denying female students’ rights to sex-segregated intimate spaces, requesting that the department investigate.
“Princeton admits that Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, but Princeton’s Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity equates sex discrimination with ‘[s]ex or gender discrimination,'” the complaint stated, citing the university’s Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity’s definitions regarding what constitutes harassment and discrimination.
“Gender identity discrimination is not the same as sex discrimination under Title IX, and the Supreme Court has never held otherwise,” the document continued. “Nevertheless, Princeton has prioritized some students’ subjective feelings over all female Princeton students’ rights to sex-segregated intimate spaces.”
Princeton University did not immediately respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment. In its complaint, Defending Education describes itself as an “interested third-party organization with members who are parents of students throughout the country” who oppose “discrimination on the basis of sex” in education.
The parental advocacy group noted that the New Jersey-based university offers 250 “gender-inclusive” restrooms, all gender dorms, and prescribes gender hormone replacement therapy to students, “despite federal law and federal directives to the contrary.”
Defending Education’s complaint also highlighted the university’s bathroom policy at two of its residential colleges, Yeh College and New College West, alleging that this policy violates Title IX and conflicts with Presidential Executive Order 14168.
The order, issued by President Donald Trump earlier this year, tasked governmental agencies with taking “all necessary steps, as permitted by law, to end the Federal funding of gender ideology.”
It also defined the word “sex” as “an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female,” adding that it was “not a synonym for and does not include the concept of ‘gender identity.'”
Yeh College and New College West each house roughly 500 students, as the complaint noted, and the university requires them to share “gender-neutral” bathrooms. These bathrooms require residents to walk through a common restroom space to access the toilet stalls, Defending Education noted, pointing to Princeton’s webpages for Yeh College or New College West.
The complaint also cited a 2023 opinion piece in The Daily Princetonian that featured a quote from a female student about the communal bathroom stalls at the university, which she said have gaps that “makes using them feel less safe and private.”
Another female student’s comments about the university’s bathroom policies appeared in The Daily Princetonian in 2022, where she stated that “knowing that there are male students in a place that I’ve always considered a safe haven scares me.” The female student added that she would not feel comfortable or safe when there is a chance she could encounter a male student while she is not fully dressed and about to take a shower.
“Moreover, there is a level of emotional safety and solidarity in being in a common bathroom with other female students that I would not want to lose,” the female student said.
Since the university randomly assigns first-year students to one of seven residential colleges, there is no choice to opt out of the “gender-neutral” bathroom arrangement, according to the civil rights complaint.
“Princeton offers limited exemptions from the communal bathrooms, but only for medical or safety reasons, and it cannot accommodate all requests,” the document stated. “Moreover, while Princeton offers these medical and safety exceptions, it refuses to grant religious exemptions.”
“This discriminates against many female religious Princeton students, such as hijabi students, whose faith regulates interactions with male students in private spaces,” the complaint continued.
In its complaint, Defending Education included a copy of an email that a parent sent to Princeton’s associate dean of undergraduate students, objecting to the bathroom policy at New College West on religious and safety grounds.
While the associate dean replied that he would share the parent’s concerns with the “appropriate offices,” Defending Education’s complaint said that no actions were taken to change the policy.
In addition to the bathroom situation, the complaint took issue with the university’s graduation ceremonies.
One of the graduation ceremonies Princeton offers is called a “Rose Graduation” ceremony, which celebrates “women and fem accomplishments and achievements.” The other one, known as a “Lavender Graduation” ceremony, celebrates “queer and trans accomplishments and achievements.”
“In short, the reality of biological sex is a fiction at Princeton University,” Defending Education concluded.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
