A transgender Resident Assistant at Utah State University has prompted controversy and concern, but a campus official says the school is just following the law.
The situation was publicized by a recent post on X that claimed a transgender student was serving as a “dorm mom” in a female housing unit.
Amanda DeRito, a spokesperson for the school, told The College Fix via email there are several clarifications needed regarding the situation, which was made viral by a post on X three days ago that has since amassed 3.5 million views.
For example, she said the school does not have an all-women’s dorm, and the terminology in the viral post, that the transgender student serves as a “dorm mom,” is inaccurate.
“For clarity, USU does not have all-female or all-male residence halls. Merril Hall is a co-ed where students choose their rooms according to the gender they report. Resident assistants do not act in a parental role, and we do not call them dorm moms,” DeRito told The Fix.
“RAs are students who act as peer advisors, and both women and men serve as RAs and provide peer advising to other students assigned to them, including either men or women. We don’t have ‘female RA’ roles or ‘male RA’ roles.”
DeRito said the university must comply with federal and state laws that prohibit discrimination in housing, adding “Utah law specifically protects transgender individuals from discrimination in both housing and employment.”
The controversy erupted after conservative Utah pundit Eric Moutsos posted on X that “Utah State University’s women’s dorm has allegedly allowed a ‘transgender’ individual as a ‘Dorm Mom,’ turning a supposed safe haven for female students into a nightmare of wokism that threatens the safety of female residents.”
He cited a Facebook post from “a concerned mother” outraged “because a man has now moved into her daughter’s all-women’s secure environment (Merrill Hall Dorm) without notice to the women students.”
“…After her complaint, the university, in a dismissive move, merely offered her daughter alternative housing, showing clear negligence towards the safety and privacy of the remaining female students in the dorm,” he continued.
Moutsos’ post was reposted by major profiles such as Libs of TikTok and even by tennis legend Martina Navratilova.
DeRito, in her email to The Fix, did not dispute that the RA in question is biologically male.
“The resident assistant in question applied, interviewed, and was selected through the same process as other RA applicants for the semester, and, like all new university employees, new RAs must pass a background check,” she said.
“To be clear, USU Student Housing strives to create a welcoming environment for all students, regardless of their background or viewpoints,” she added. “On-campus housing benefits many students by providing additional support and connection to resources as they are navigating the transition to adulthood. Students can also find off-campus housing near campus, which houses about 70% of our Logan campus student body.”
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