USC Gym Hour for Female and Non-Binary Students Prompts Questions on Legality

“Banning an entire sex—in this case men—from a commercial space is strictly prohibited under Title IX”

Posted by Mike LaChance Monday, April 27, 2026 at 08:00am 0 Comments

The left just never stops pushing this envelope. They don’t even seem to care about laws.

USC gym hour for female, non-binary students raises legal concerns

At the University of Southern California, the Student Assembly for Gender Empowerment recently began a gym hour specifically for female and “non-binary” students that has raised legal red flags among some scholars.

SAGE created this “welcoming and inclusive fitness environment for all students,” but proponents and the poster specifically mentioned wanting the space for “women and non-binary identifying students.” The gym hour runs from 10 to 11 a.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. It began April 6 and will continue through May 15, according to a poster advertising the event.

John Banzhaf, a law professor at George Washington University Law School, told The College Fix in a recent interview that “Title IX generally prohibits discrimination based upon sex in the provision of services and facilities by universities.” Banzhaf is a well known public interest lawyer often handling cases involving sex discrimination.

Banning an entire sex—in this case men—from a commercial space is strictly prohibited under Title IX. However, SAGE opted for wording that is inclusive on its official promotions of the initiative.

For example, SAGE’s poster advertising the special gym hour states, “Open to all!”

But Banzhaf said the claim that “while women are very strongly preferred, men will technically not be barred” is nothing but a facade to avoid issues with Title IX and the university.

When asked about legal concerns regarding this initiative, an unnamed spokesperson for USC Student Life told The College Fix via email: “This program is sponsored by USC’s undergraduate student government and is open to all students consistent with university policy.”

While none of SAGE’s members responded to an interview request from The College Fix, they were quoted in The Daily Trojan—USC’s school newspaper—as to why they began the project to begin with.

“My past experiences with being in enclosed spaces where it’s very men-dominated has never been super pleasant,” USC senior Mengze Wu said. “There tends to be this problem that I face where I don’t get to take up a lot of space unless I really declare myself. And even with that, I face a lot of hindrance in being able to feel completely comfortable.”