West

University of California campuses see dramatic rise in students identifying as transgender or non-binary

Published

2 years ago

February 11, 2024

University of California campuses see dramatic rise in students identifying as transgender or non-binary

The University of California system is seeing a staggering increase in the number of students who identify as either transgender or non-binary.

According to data released in January, the number of undergraduate students identifying as non-binary across UC system campuses rose by over 2,000 from 2019 to 2023.

The San Francisco Chronicle noted that last year, the UC changed its data collection processes and consolidated the terms “non-binary,” “genderqueer” and “gender non-conforming” into a singular “non-binary category.”

“Even taking into account that shift, the number and percentage of students identifying as trans or non-binary increased significantly,” the paper noted.

The percentage of students identifying as gender non-conforming, non-binary or transgender has also tripled over the last four years (.06% in 2019 to 1.9% in 2023). Most of the students fell under the non-binary category, while transgender men and women were identified as the smallest demographic in 2023, at .2% and .1%, respectively.

POLL FINDS AMERICANS DON’T THINK BIOLOGICAL MEN SHOULD COMPETE IN WOMEN’S SPORTS: ‘PENDULUM HAS SWUNG TOO FAR’

A pedestrian walks by a sign in front of the U.C. Berkeley campus on July 22, 2020, in Berkeley, California. ((Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images))

UC Berkeley reported a major uptick in the number of students identified as transgender or gender non-conforming, rising from .2% in 2019 up to 1.8% in 2023.

The university’s Director of LGBTQ Advancement and Equity, Em Huang, said a systemwide rule allowing students to use a name of their choice and gender identity on nearly all official documents may have made the school more appealing to transgender and non-binary students.

The university is also in the process of converting many gendered bathroom stalls into gender-neutral bathrooms.

UC Santa Cruz had the largest non-binary and transgender undergraduate population in 2023 (4% and 1.1.%).

The data on UC schools comes after the results of the 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey Early Insights report, the largest survey of transgender people in the United States, was released.

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS WANT SCHOOLS TO TEACH MORE ABOUT GOOD CITIZENSHIP AND LESS ABOUT GENDER IDENTITY

Students walk past Sather Gate on the University of California at Berkeley campus in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

Ninety-four percent of respondents who had lived at least part of their life in a different gender than their birth sex reported they were “a lot more satisfied” or “a little more satisfied” with the quality of their life.

Only 1% of respondents said they were “a little less satisfied” with their life and only 2% said they were “a lot less satisfied.”

However, 39% of those surveyed said they had been harassed on social media because of their gender identity in the last year. Thirty percent also reported verbal harassment over the same period.

Sixty-two percent of respondents admitted they were “very uncomfortable” or “somewhat uncomfortable” talking to police or asking for help when they experienced issues related to their gender.

The new report also determined that the unemployment rate among those surveyed was almost five times the U.S. national average (-18%).

Nikolas Lanum is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.

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Montana

Women who made agriculture work in Montana

Published

20 minutes ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Women who made agriculture work in Montana

Lisa Schmidt
| Columnist

Recently, I was asked to talk about what it is like to be a female rancher.

I was flattered to be asked, but I don’t know the answer.

I do know what it is like to be a human rancher and I know that I admire many women who also are ranchers.

In fact, 36 percent of the farmers and ranchers in the U.S. are women and they manage almost half of America’s ag land.

Globally, we produce more than half of all food.

In Montana, we all benefit from amazing female leaders in agriculture.

If you want to know about improving soil health or the rewards of raising sheep, talk to Linda Poole in Malta.

If you want to learn how to organize a grassroots rancher’s organization and effect meaningful change, talk to Maggie Nutter in Sunburst.

Trina Bradley of Dupuyer will look you in the eye and tell you everything you need to know about the impacts of grizzlies on her ranch life.

Colleen Gustafson, on the Two Med, graciously hosts and educates non-ranchers for months at a time without strangling them, all while maintaining every fence, buying every bull and killing every weed on her ranch.

Adele Stenson of Wibaux and Holly Stoltz of Livingston find innovative solutions to ranching challenges and then — even harder — find ways to share these innovations with hard-headed, independent cusses who want to do it our own way.

In fact, I’ve noticed that often women seek novel innovations to deal with a ranching challenge.

If a man happens to be around, she might even run it past him.

It’s rubber band ranching – stretch with an idea, contract to assess it, then stretch again to implement it.

Long ago, my friend Michelle and I promoted the One Good Cow program at the Montana Stockgrowers Association meeting.

We asked cattle producers to donate one cow to ranchers who had lost so many in blizzards and floods that year.

As we stood on stage in a room full of dour, silent men, I remember finding the one person I knew and asking what he thought.

Just as he would bid at a livestock auction, he barely nodded his approval.

We ended up gathering more than 900 cows from across the nation and giving them to 67 producers.

One Good Cow was a good idea.

Now I don’t seek approval for my ideas so sometimes my rubber band doesn’t contract to assess one before I stretch into action.

That’s how I got myself into producing shelf-stable, ready-to-eat meals made with my beef and lamb.

This is a good idea, too.

I hope.

I wonder if it is easier to ranch as a woman in some ways.

Society pressures men to know all of the answers all of the time, but If I mess up, I try to learn from my mistake and move forward.

When Imposter Syndrome hits or we can’t find a solution to an unsolvable problem – the effects of climate change, commodity markets or competing demands from family – secretly faking it until we make it gets lonely.

The downward spiral of loneliness and the pressure to be perfect can lead to suicide.

Male ranchers kill themselves 3.5 times more often than the general public.

Female ranchers kill themselves, too, just a little less often.

I’m fortunate to have good friends who love me even when I’m far from perfect.

We laugh together, they remind me that I have a few good attributes even when I forget, they tolerate my weirdness and celebrate little successes.

They stave off loneliness.

They know all ranchers try our best, we appreciate a little grace, and a warm fire feels good to our cold fingers.

Lisa Schmidt raises grass-fed beef and lamb at the Graham Ranch near Conrad. Lisa can be reached at L.Schmidt@a-land-of-grass-ranch.com.

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Nevada

Nevada State Police averts ‘udder chaos’ in Eureka County

Published

32 minutes ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Nevada State Police averts ‘udder chaos’ in Eureka County

EUREKA COUNTY, Nev. (KOLO) – On Friday, Feb. 27, the Nevada State Police assisted with a cattle crossing on State Route 306 at Interstate 80 in Eureka County.

“While not an everyday part of our job, we like to do our part to assist our local ranchers while keeping traffic from turning into udder chaos,” according to an agency Facebook post. “It was a perfect opportunity to be outside (even if our animal friends were a little moo-dy).”

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