Utah mom Cheryl Saltzman speaks in front of state lawmakers as legislature moves forward bill protecting women’s spaces in higher ed
Cheryl Saltzman previously told Campus Reform that ‘women deserve and should have the right to not live with a man, and that needs to be protected.’
The bill would bar men from living in women’s spaces in public colleges.
A Utah bill that safeguards women’s spaces from men who claim to “identify” as women cleared the state House.
The bill, HB 269, passed the House in a 59-13 vote on Tuesday. If enacted into law, the bill would make Utah’s public colleges and universities forbid male students from residing in women’s dormitories, and vice versa.
This development comes after Cheryl Saltzman, mother of a Utah State University student, raised awareness of the fact that the school administration allowed a male resident assistant to live in the same dormitory as her daughter.
Saltzman spoke to Campus Reform about her experience twice, and said: “[A] man cannot become a woman. And you cannot mutilate yourself into being a woman, and women should have the choice when, if, and how they decide to live with a man. And these college campuses, they can just insert a man into a women’s living space with zero consent. . . . and women deserve and should have the right to not live with a man, and that needs to be protected.”
Saltzman spoke in front of Utah state legislators on Thursday for the second time. She condemned the idea of allowing men in women’s spaces, calling it “void of common sense,” and adding: “This is damaging psychologically, emotionally, and physically to women, and sends a terrible message that they do not matter as much as the fantasies of a man. This further damages the trust of parents and students. This is damaging to women, but it is also extremely cruel and unkind to these men who have been falsely validated, welcomed, and accommodated into these spaces that they do not belong to, and should never have been invited [to].”
She added: “We shouldn’t be here, this never should have been allowed to happen, the clear and obvious boundaries of female space should never have been crossed, and I am very sorry to those [transgender-identifying] people who believe that their housing is being restricted. Or that they are being targeted or bullied. This is not my intention. It is only to restore a boundary that should never have been crossed. . . . It should be every single girl’s choice to decide . . . when, how, and if she decides to live with a man. Period.”
Saltzman also told Campus Reform she is “confident” that the bill will pass.
The bill sponsor, State Rep. Stephanie Gricius, previously told Campus Reform: “H.B. 269 is common-sense legislation that will enhance privacy for students residing in on-campus housing at public universities.”