Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) filed a lawsuit Thursday in federal court on behalf of Young America’s Foundation (YAF) against the University of Minnesota (UMN).
The lawsuit targets the university’s policies surrounding gender identity and transgenderism that it says restrict students from using biological pronouns in reference to trans students or speaking on the conservative side of the debate.
SLF President Kimberly Hermann stated that colleges and universities are spaces where students should be able to exercise free speech, but UMN’s policies are forcing its students to “walk on eggshells” around such topics in fear of disciplinary measures from the school.
“College campuses are meant to be a place where students are allowed to freely express their views and opinions,” she said. “The University of Minnesota’s actions fly right in the face of this, enforcing policies that prevent students who believe in biological sex from voicing their right to speak freely on gender identity or transgenderism … It sounds to me like the school wants to be a safe place for some students but not all.”
These allegations form the basis of the lawsuit, arguing that UMN is violating students’ First Amendment rights by restricting freedom of speech.
While UMN claims that students expressing more traditional views on these topics can offend listeners, according to the lawsuit, SLF and YAF maintain that it is unconstitutional for universities to restrict such speech just because a person may not like it or agree with it.
According to a press release, the lawsuit defines these policies as “pure viewpoint discrimination.”
“The fact that there are any universities in the US attempting to suppress certain views that they deem wrong is a complete outrage,” YAF President Scott Walker said. “While students at the University of Minnesota should just have to worry about their classwork, they now also have to worry about violating these policies that are infringing on their rights to speak freely. Not only is this unfair to students, and particularly conservative students, but it’s completely unconstitutional.”
The lawsuit explains that the university’s “speech codes” on transgender issues are enforced through various policies on sexual harassment and discrimination as well as the student code of conduct and an “equity and access” policy.
“Because of these policies, students fear speaking broadly supported ideas like ‘men should not compete in women’s sports or use their bathrooms,’ ‘there are only two genders,’ ‘sex is immutable,’ ‘a man cannot get pregnant,’ or ‘a man cannot become a woman, and a woman cannot become a man.’ They fear speaking because they might be reported and subject to discipline,” the lawsuit says.
Additionally, students are afraid to bring speakers who agree with them to campus, including those associated with YAF, according to the lawsuit.
It asks the court to declare the challenged aspects of the policies unconstitutional and prohibit those portions from being enforced.
The lawsuit is part of a broader effort by SLF to challenge similar restrictions of free speech around the nation on college campuses.
SLF launched a free speech protection project in 2015, specifically aimed at defending college students. The project’s goal was to equip students to speak freely about their views and defend them in the court of law. Since SLF launched the 1A Project, students at over 100 campuses have been aided in training and legal action to fight for their freedom of speech.
Alpha News reached out to UMN for comment. This story will be updated if a response is received.
Rachael Van Rossum
Rachael Van Rossum is a journalist and author who studies political science in the Twin Cities. She previously interned with the Illinois House of Representatives and recently published her debut fantasy novel "The Hellburner of Sovi." Rachael is passionate about telling compelling stories and bringing to life the voices of political figures, athletes, and members of her community through engaging writing. She is the Alpha News journalism fellow for the summer of 2026.
