The early days of Trump’s second reign have been characterized by the term “executive order.” Numerous executive orders have come forth with varying degrees of constitutionality. These executive orders have been an exertion of will over bodies both at the national and state level. The most controversial and relevant of these has been related to transgender athletes competing in sports. Janet Mills’ refusal to comply with this order in particular has put Maine in a contentious position. The University of Maine and the state as a whole are now under the public eye.
Conservatives who hadn’t heard of Maine prior to a month ago are now screeching about “Woke DEI” in a state not at all known for its diversity. Diversity in Maine is not nearly as existent as in other states, which means this scrutiny is especially ironic. Almost all of this controversy is centered around, from what I can tell, a single transgender high school athlete in Maine. Anything else is a matter of speculation. It’s impossible to distinguish with 100% accuracy who is cisgender and who is transgender. An athlete who started transitioning as a girl when she was young could in theory have gone through puberty with estrogen and not have the hormone or physical “advantage” that conservatives use as their argument against transgender athletes. This is a false complaint as well, since sports are entirely built on natural advantage. This is not a widespread issue in Maine in any way that Trump and his followers can prove. As far as racial diversity goes, Maine is 90% white, as of the 2023 Census. The state does not make sense as a target for the far-right to paint as a social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion safe haven.
Despite “problems” of diversity hardly existing in Maine, Mills’ resistance has set the standard for compliance with corrupt rule. These executive orders and Title IX investigations have been an attempt to bully the state into forced obedience. University students have been on the receiving end of this pushback. We’ve been threatened with federal funding being stripped away from the state and the University. We’ve had to worry about whether or not our scholarships and our Pell Grants will continue through our educational career. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion had to rebrand to avoid losing their funding in the wake of the anti-DEI push. The University, which has slowly been growing to accommodate more and more diverse students and progressive institutions, is now finding itself in a massive eight-year cultural regression.
Despite this, Mills stands strong in her efforts to resist Trump’s attempts to overwrite rules through vague orders. She has made it clear that she does not intend to give in easily or without legal challenges. This is exactly the type of leaders we should be seeing in response to the regime of a cruel and uncaring executive. While Mills is not a perfect figure and it’s entirely unclear how unwavering she will remain when it becomes time to worry about being re-elected, her current actions have admirably put Maine on the map as a state that won’t give in.
