The University of Delaware held a debate on March 6 about whether biological sex is binary, an event that included security screening and prompted a separate safe-space response from student groups, according to the university.
The event, titled “Debating Sex: Is Biological Sex Binary?,” was free and open to the public. Attendees were required to go through security screening, according to the university’s event page. The debate featured Tomás Bogardus of Pepperdine University and AgustÃn Fuentes of Princeton University and was co-hosted by the Philosophy, Women & Gender Studies, and Anthropology departments.
The topic comes amid ongoing discussions in Delaware about LGBTQ+ rights and protections. Gov. Matt Meyer’s Executive Order No. 11, signed June 20, 2025, states Delaware has about 40,000 LGBTQ+ residents age 13 and older, or roughly 4.5% of the population, including approximately 6,300 transgender adults. The order notes gender identity was added as a protected class in 2013 and references subsequent insurance mandates related to gender-affirming care.
In January 2025, then-interim Gov. Bethany Hall-Long signed Executive Order No. 1 establishing Delaware’s first LGBTQ+ Commission. The nine-member group was tasked with advising state leaders, strengthening ties with advocacy organizations, and addressing barriers in education, employment, health care, housing, and mental health while supporting anti-discrimination efforts.
The University of Delaware describes its mission as fostering learning, advancing knowledge and supporting the free exchange of ideas. The university is state-assisted but privately governed and is designated as a land-grant, sea-grant and space-grant institution. It reports total enrollment of 24,412 students and traces its founding to 1743.
Delaware Public Media reported in February 2025 that the university requested more than $8 million in additional state funding on top of its $144 million base budget for scholarships, expansion of associate-to-bachelor’s programs, agriculture and environmental programs.
