UC San Diego is instructing students that asking men who identify as female to use the men’s restroom creates a “hostile environment.” The guidance is part of a mandatory training module that threatens academic penalties for students who refuse to comply with gender ideology, including pronoun usage and bathroom choice.
The university’s SHAPE program—short for Sexual Violence and Harassment, Anti‑Discrimination, Prevention and Education—requires students to complete training that equates refusal to affirm a person’s gender identity with sexual harassment. According to screenshots obtained by Young America’s Foundation, the training claims that a hostile environment may arise when a student “demands that others use a particular bathroom that does not correspond to their gender identity” or refuses to use a person’s chosen pronouns.
The training also labels “dead-naming,” or using a person’s given name prior to gender transition, as a potential form of harassment. Students who do not complete the program face an academic hold, which blocks them from registering for future courses.
Young America’s Foundation highlighted that the policy undermines the ability of students to express religious convictions or scientific facts. Students who believe in the biological reality of male and female are pressured into silence or compliance under threat of institutional discipline.
