At a recent board meeting of the Lucia Mar Unified School District, Diest, a junior at Arroyo Grande High School, addressed the board about her concerns regarding allowing biological males in the girls’ locker rooms. She expressed that her privacy, as well as that of other girls, was being compromised.
Diest shared her distressing experience of encountering a biological male in the women’s locker room while getting ready for track practice. She recounted how this individual was observing her and other girls as they changed, causing her great discomfort.
The high school student described the incident as traumatic and emotionally upsetting. She lamented feeling that her sense of privacy was disregarded by the adults in charge, leaving her and her peers feeling invalidated and vulnerable in their own spaces.
Diest, through tears, pointed out that the transgender athlete has XY chromosomes making him a male, and said that this is just “basic biology.”
Video of the exchange surfaced online showing various members of the LMUSD board appearing to have no sympathy during Diest’s tearful testimony. Some seemed uninterested as they looked away, while others just stared down at the paper before them. At one point, board president Colleen Martin told the young girl to “please, wrap it up.”
The high school student stated, once again, that she and other girls have a right to feel safe at school.
California girl cries while recounting trans athlete experience, school board president says ‘wrap it up’ https://t.co/AkdfS3Bd9j
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 18, 2025
“I just want to ask ‘what about us?’ 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,” Diest said. “Sadly we have to try and regain our rights back. I hope you put effort into the restoration of our school safety.”
After her testimony, Diest received rounds of applause and loud cheers from those in the audience. However, Martin did not seem to appreciate it and appeared to get upset, slamming her gavel numerous times and yelling “No,” while calling on it to end.
California joins with states like Maine that have refused to acknowledge President Donald Trump’s executive order “Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports,” which bans biological men from competing in women’s sports.
On April 1, California Democratic legislators rejected two proposals from Republicans that would have banned students whose “sex was assigned male at birth” from participating on a girls school sports team.” The other would have prevented students from using bathrooms and other facilities that align with their gender identity.
Jennifer Sey, the founder and CEO of XX-XY Athletics spoke for many people in a video reacting to the callous treatment of the girl by the very school board members who should be protecting her:
When this School Board President told this girl to “wrap it up” she was saying quite clearly that boys’ feelings are more important than her voice and her rights.
We deserve better leaders.
— Jennifer Sey (@JenniferSey) April 19, 2025
This is a developing story. RedState will provide updates as they become available.
