UT Student Loses Military Scholarship After Trump Administration Transgender Troop Ban, Report Says

AUSTIN — A freshman at the University of Texas at Austin says he has lost his military scholarship because he is transgender man, according to a report in the Daily Texan.Map Pesqueira, a 19-year-old from San Antonio, told the student newspaper he was given a three-year Reserve Officers' Training Corps, or ROTC, scholarship. But the federal government voided his award, he said, citing its new policy that bans transgender troops from enlisting in the military."Since I've already had top surgery, hormone replacement therapy, gender marker and (a) name change, I can't go in under this policy," Pesqueira told the Texan, who said he may have to drop out if he does not find funding with which to replace the scholarship. He's started a GoFundMe campaign to stay in school.President Donald Trump ordered transgender troops out of the military in March 2018. But his policy was put on hold while it was challenged in court. In January, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted that hold while appeals were ongoing; the final legal block was lifted last month.The policy went into effect on April 11. It bans the enlistment of any new troops who have taken steps to transition to a gender different than that assigned to them at birth, either by taking hormones or getting surgery. Transgender soldiers who transitioned before April 12 are grandfathered in and may continue to serve; those who enlist after that date must serve as the sex they were designated at birth.Pesquiera is a transgender man, meaning he identifies as male but was assigned a different sex at birth. He told The Texan that the UT Austin military science department chair tried, but failed, to save his scholarship by grandfathering him into the program.UT Austin did not immediately return requests for comment on this case or the chair's involvement. The Dallas Morning News has reached out to the U.S. Department of Defense to inquire about the effect of the administration's policy change on transgender ROTC students.   Continue reading...