The University of Minnesota's Gender and Sexuality Center for Queer And Trans Life — yes, that's its real name — dropped $800 of university money on "gender-affirming haircuts" on February 26, 2026. Eight hundred dollars. On haircuts. Not scholarships. Not lab equipment. Not tutoring for students who can't read above a seventh-grade level. Haircuts. But make them affirming.
I didn't know my barber was a bigot this whole time. Apparently a regular haircut just doesn't cut it anymore.
The College Fix dug into the center's spending records and what they found is a buffet of absurdity that makes $800 haircuts look almost reasonable by comparison. The day before the haircut expenditure — February 25, 2026 — the center spent $685 on "in-house nail appointments." Because nothing says "academic institution" like getting your nails done on the university's dime.
But wait, there's more. The center also shelled out roughly $250 for protein shakes for something called the "Trans and Queer Strength Group," which the program describes as a "once weekly program" that "aims to support trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming folks." They spent over $600 on pride flags. They blew $200 on a drag bingo event back in August 2025. And they paid $800 to someone named N'Yomi Stewart — described as a "trans femme/non-binary actor" — for a speaking event.
[ad]
All told, the center burned through more than $55,000 between July 1, 2025 and March 2026. Fifty-five thousand dollars at an academic institution, and not a single penny of it went toward anything resembling academics.
The center is run by Director Mycall Riley — whose listed pronouns are "any/all" — along with co-directors Layton Hernandez-Offner and Rick X Hoops. I'm sure they're all doing very serious, very important work that definitely justifies their salaries on top of the $55,000 party budget.
Jonathan Butcher, acting director of the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation, put it about as diplomatically as anyone could. "The university is going in the opposite direction of public opinion," Butcher told The College Fix. He added that "affirming this sexual confusion is not actually helping young people."
He's right, of course. But my favorite Butcher quote was this one: "It's not illegal, but it's not a good use of funds at an academic institution." Understatement of the century.
Butcher also pointed out the obvious: "Graduation rates are already mediocre at best. The focus should be on rigorous academics, not this."
Mediacre graduation rates. Gender-affirming haircuts. Protein shakes for the queer strength group. This is what higher education looks like in 2026, and we're all paying for it.
Somewhere a kid in Minnesota is taking out $40,000 in student loans so the university can host drag bingo and buy pride flags. But sure, tell us again how college is an investment in the future.
