A California school board meeting turned emotional and contentious last Tuesday (April 15) when a high school student was cut off mid-speech while recounting what she described as a “traumatic” encounter with a transgender individual in a locker room.
Celeste Diest, a junior within the Lucia Mar Unified School District in Arroyo Grande, took the podium to share her personal concerns about the participation of transgender students in s*x-segregated spaces.
“Recently, I went into the women’s locker room to change for track practice,” Diest explained. “Where I saw at the end of my row a biological male watching not only myself but the other young women undress.”
Diest then broke into tears and criticized the board for, in her words, “making [her] and [her] peers feel like their comfort is invalid” before being told by a member to “wrap it up.”
President of a California school board told a student to “wrap it up” as she recounted a “traumatic experience” with trans athlete
Diest described the encounter as “beyond traumatizing,” noting that the individual in question was already dressed and shouldn’t have been “in a locker room, let alone the women’s.”
“Adults like yourself make me and my peers feel like our own comfort was invalid, even though our privacy was and still is completely violated,” she added.
The student continued by referencing the individual’s chromosomal makeup, pointing out that “males have XY chromosomes, females have XX chromosomes,” and describing the information as “basic biology.”
Diest, struggling to finish the previous sentence, was then interrupted by the president of the school board, Colleen Martin, instructing her to “please wrap it up.”
“I just want to ask ‘What about us?’” the student continued.
“We cannot sit around and allow our rights to be given up to cater to an individual that is a man, who watches women undress and is stripping away female opportunity that once was fought for us.”
Her words prompted a strong reaction from the audience, with some reportedly wearing t-shirts that read, “Save Girls Sports.” As the cheers grew in volume, Martin proceeded to slam her gavel to restore order in the room.
Debate surrounding the issue of trans athletes in women’s sports continues to escalate, both in cultural and legal areas
The clip surfaced in the middle of an eventful week for the issue of transgender individuals and their participation in spaces reserved for biological women.
As Bored Panda previously reported, The United Kingdom’s Supreme Court put an end to a long discussion that began in 2018 when the Scottish Parliament introduced the Gender Representation on Public Boards Act.
The legislation was intended to improve gender balance by requiring that half of non-executive board members on public bodies be women. The act defined “woman” to include transgender women who possess a Gender Recognition Certificate.
Feminist advocacy group For Women Scotland (FWS) challenged the law, arguing that the definition conflicted with the UK’s Equality Act 2010, which protects against discrimination on the basis of characteristics like s*x, reassignment, and orientation.
FWS contended that the Scottish government had exceeded its authority by expanding the legal definition of “woman.”
After years of litigation, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act refer specifically to biological women and biological s*x.
California legally allows athletes to participate in sports leagues that align with their gender identity
While the Court stated that transgender individuals will continue to be protected from discrimination, it explained that these protections will not extend to spaces designed for biological women only—including sports.
In the United States, on the other hand, California remains one of the states that allow transgender athletes to compete in the divisions they identify with.
“A pupil shall be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records,” a 2013 State Assembly bill specifies.
WATCH: A California high school girl tearfully recounts to her school board having to change in front of a biological male before track practice.
Celeste Diest is a junior in the Lucia Mar Unified School District. She said the biological male watched both her and other girls… pic.twitter.com/DV0UQhpcI2
— Off The Press (@OffThePress1) April 17, 2025
The US’ current administration has established a traditional definition of sex and gender via various executive orders. This has led some states, such as Maine, to be sued for not banning transgender athletes in women’s sports.
On the other hand, 26 out of the nation’s 50 states have laws that implement the aforementioned bans.
“Courageous.” Netizens took to social media to share their thoughts on the board meeting
