The University of Pennsylvania (UPENN) in the United States gave in to pressure from the government of Donald Trump and agreed to ban female modes in the institution.
The agreement, announced by the Department of Education, is another case of political pressure from the Republican against elite universities in the country’s political-cultural guidelines that oppose higher education institutions to federal management.
UPENN agreed to banish to prevent an investigation from the Department of Education from unfolding into a case in the Justice Department or becoming a parallel process to cut federal funds to the university. Government investigation concluded that the university has committed sex discrimination.
The case focused on Lia Thomas, a trans swimmer from the university team that became critical of debates on the application of specific rules for transgender athletes in female modalities.
The Department of Education opened the investigation in February and reached the conclusions in April. According to the investigation, UPENN violated a law article that prohibits sex discrimination in education by “denying women equal opportunities and allowing men to participate in female competitions.”
The university also pledged to restore records and titles of athletes who lost to Lia Thomas, as well as writing a letter to each of them apologizing, according to the Department of Education.
“The department praises UPENN for correcting past damage committed against women and girls and will continue to fight tirelessly to restore proper application of the law,” said Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
In February, shortly after Trump signed a decree that prohibited the participation of trans people in female modalities, NCAA (National University Athletic Association) updated its rules to contemplate Trump’s decree.
UPENN is the latest institution to retreat from political pressure and threats from federal funding cuts made by the Trump administration.
New York Columbia University agreed in March with a series of government demands as a condition to recover $ 400 million in federal federal funding by the White House after accusations that the school tolerated anti -Semitism in campus.
The measures implemented by the institution include the ban on campus facial masks, the empowerment of security agents to remove or arrest individuals at the university, and the removal of the department control faculty that offers courses on the Middle East.
Harvard is another institution that crashes with Trump. On Monday (30), the government concluded that the university violated the Federal Civil Rights Law of 1964 regarding the treatment given to Jewish and Israeli students, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Embies date dating back to a letter that the government sent to the university on April 11, proposing a series of intrusive requirements, including some related to academic freedom.
After the institution’s refusal, Trump management blocked federal subsidies for Harvard worth $ 3 billion. The president also tried to block the possibility of enrolling international students, as well as threatening his tax exemption status. The university sued the government, stating that such actions would violate the first amendment of the American Constitution and the rights to due process.
