Conservative litigation group America First Legal (AFL) asked for a federal investigation into the Georgia Institute of Technology, better known as Georgia Tech, over alleged discrimination against men in its new Rising Stars program that only accepts students who are biologically female, identify as female, or do not identify as any gender, in a letter sent Tuesday.
AFL alleges Georgia Tech is violating Title IX of the Higher Education Act of 1972, which prohibits gender-based exclusion in “any education program or activity receiving federal Federal financial assistance,” and sent a letter to the Department of Education asking it launch an investigation based on the legal group’s evidence.
According to a screen shot provided by AFL, the institution limited the Rising Stars program to “cisgender female, transgender (AMAB and AFAB), and nonbinary” applicants. Those interested were required to submit their applications by July 10.
AMAB and AFAB are acronyms used by the transgender and medical communities to indicate “assigned male at birth” or “assigned female at birth.” Georgia Tech invites applicants from both groups to apply, in addition to biologically female students and nonbinary students who do not identify as any gender.
This, AFL claims, means Georgia Tech is apparently only excluding biological men who presently identify as the gender they were born.
AFL explains that Georgia Tech’s Rising Stars program originated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), when it launched Rising Stars in 2012. In 2014, the Rising Stars program moved to the University of California, Berkeley, and has since appeared at top universities and schools including Carnegie Mellon and Stanford.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, AFL said that allowing AMAB, AFAB, and nonbinary students was new to the Rising Stars program, and means the Georgia Tech policy is, essentially, “‘men need not apply,’ unless a male decides to ‘identify’ as a female despite being ‘AMAB’ – ‘assigned male at birth.’”
/7 In other words, “men need not apply,” unless a male decides to “identify” as a female despite being “AMAB” – “assigned male at birth.” pic.twitter.com/cfxfSA80ea
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) September 26, 2023
Georgia Tech did not immediately reply to a comment request from The Georgia Star News to respond to AFL’s claims, or to clarify whether the program was open to transgender students who were born female but identify as male.
Gene Hamilton, the AFL’s vice president and general counsel, said in a statement on Tuesday that “[e]ven ‘ramblin’ wrecks from Georgia Tech’ should know that federal law prohibits discrimination in higher education on the basis of sex,” and insisted that AFL stands “for true equality of opportunity and merit-based principles.”
“No college student should be deprived of an opportunity to succeed or further their education just because of their sex,” Hamilton said. “Corrective action must be taken.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Georgia Star News and a reporter for the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Georgia Tech Students” by Georiga Tech.
