Just under 200 students and faculty gathered outside of Neville Hall at the University of Maine on March 13 with cardboard protest signs and a message that they were determined to tell Turning Point USA (TPUSA) advocate Olivia Krolczyck. Before it started, the group spread to different locations around the building to alert others that an anti-trans advocate was speaking.
Krolczyck is a notable right-leaning TikTok influencer who advocates for the rights of women, especially in sports. She reached popularity in 2023 when she posted on TikTok about how her college professor at the University of Cincinnati failed her on a project for using the exclusionary term “biological women” in a project, according to The New York Post.
The Riley Gaines Center at the Leadership Institute was formed when Lia Thomas, a transgender woman, competed and won an event in the 2022 Women’s NCAA Swimming Championships. The organization travels to schools to educate student audiences about how trans-athletes are taking away from women’s sports.
“I’m not anti-trans. I’m pro-women,” states Riley Gaines in her biography on her foundation’s website.
In 2023, one year after Lia Thomas competed, there was a clear outline for trans-athlete participation in the NCAA, which has now been edited to adhere to recent executive orders, such as “Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports.”
The original statement from NCAA stated that “Beginning Aug. 1, 2024, the NCAA will ask trans athletes to provide documentation no less than twice annually. This could include testosterone levels, a timeline of body changes and other information,” as stated in this recent PPH opinion piece.
Currently, the official language the NCAA states for athlete eligibility states that “A student-athlete assigned male at birth may not compete on a women’s team,” even if they are undergoing hormone therapy. If a player is found on a women’s NCAA team, they will not be allowed to compete in the championships.
More locally, on March 12, the University’s funds were unpaused by the USDA following the Title IX and Title VI investigation. There has been no evidence of any trans athletes competing under the University.
Certainly, the debate on trans-athletes’ right to participate in competitive sports, headed by the Trump Administration, is a hot-button issue.
Krolczyck, who was a Division III collegiate athlete, advocates for the protection of women who compete in athletics. Most importantly, she speaks on the trans-athlete debate in a nationwide speaking circuit across college campuses backed by The Riley Gaines Center.
According to Krolczyck in an interview at the event, she has “never had to compete against a male, never had to change in front of a male in the locker room,” and described herself as “one of the fortunate ones.”
Krolczyck believes that there is no way for an individual to transition from male to female. However, some UMaine community members wanted to make it known that they reject this ideology.
“A lot of people were upset that this event was being hosted on campus and decided that they personally wanted to take actions to stop it,” stated Kaia De Vries, a mathematics graduate student.
The student-organized protest, which was organized in a day, filled Neville Hall around 5 p.m. to peacefully protest what many perceived as an anti-trans event. The students met outside of the hall before heading in to pack the room tight with signs. Some phrases on these signs included “Trans people still exist,” “Shame” and “How much are you paid to spew trans hate?”
“The true UMaine students will get their voices heard because this is not who we are as an event, what’s out here is,” said Benjamin Kuebler, a fourth-year marketing student.
The doors opened for the event at 5:30 p.m. By 5:45 p.m. the room was at capacity, leaving no space for more protesters to fit inside. Other participants remained outside the doors chanting messages like “Hey hey, ho ho, trans hate has got to go” and “Protect trans kids” toward Korlczyck, who was inside.
Throughout her speech, Krolczyck was interrupted by sounds originating from attendees’ phones and shouts of passionate activism. Vulnerable stories were shared from students to illustrate the need for inclusion and how exclsuion has seriously harmed them and other classmates.
The overwhelming number of protesters forced Krolczyck off her stage 45 minutes earlier than expected.
“We do not tolerate intolerance,” said De Vries.
