Greg Burt of the California Family Council explains the University of California's version of Sexual Harassment, Anti-Discrimination, Prevention, and Education (SHAPE) requires students to consent to using others' preferred pronouns before they can attend classes.
He says this is in response to AB 2608, a new harassment prevention law that redefines "sexual harassment to include creating a hostile environment for trans students."
UC Irvine claims the training is mandated by the university's Office for Civil Rights. Every student must earn a 100% score on the final quiz to pass. Failure to complete the program results in a registration hold, preventing enrollment for the next semester.
According to a screenshot provided by Young America's Foundation, one section of the SHAPE training says a "hostile environment may be created when someone demands that others use a particular bathroom that does not correspond to their gender identity or uses the incorrect pronoun. Intentionally calling someone their name used prior to transition, as opposed to their lived name, is called dead-naming, and may be a form of sexual harassment."
In other words, students are being forced to use trans students' preferred pronouns and to keep quiet when someone of the opposite sex is in the wrong bathroom.
"If you don't say on this test that that's a hostile environment, then you will not be able to go to class," Burt summarizes. "This is really forced indoctrination. It's illegal. It's compelled speech violating our First Amendment rights, but here in California, they're doing it anyway."
Universities are not required to use SHAPE specifically, but all must implement a program that aligns with the definitions.
Burt has some advice for the students who are dealing with this.
"They should refuse to say anything on a test that they don't believe to be true," he begins. "If you don't believe someone can change their sex … stand up and speak the truth. If the government will not let you attend class, then you file a lawsuit because they're violating federal law."
When the government forces people to say anything they do not believe, Burt says they have a moral obligation to resist.
"Folks, stand up for your rights, stand up for freedom of speech, and do not comply," he insists.
