Freshman Has Scholarship Revoked Over Transgender Military Ban

Trump’s transgender military ban is already having a widespread reach through the trans community.

Freshman Map Pesqueira has been attending the University of Texas with the help of a national three-year Reserve Officers’ Training Corps scholarship.

But now that Pesqueira, who is transgender, is no longer able to serve in the military when he graduates, his scholarship has been voided by the Department of Defense.

“Since I’ve already had top surgery, hormone replacement therapy, gender marker and [a] name change, I can’t go in under this policy,” Pesqueira said. “I’d automatically be discriminated. I really do see [Trump’s policy] as a waste of resources, money, time and personnel. It’s made figuring out my future education so much harder.”

Pesquiera’s entire future is now up in the air. He may not be able to continue attending school because he can’t afford it without his scholarship, and his dream of going into the military may be out of reach forever.

The ROTC department chair at UT, Matthew O’Neill, tried to get Pesqueira’s scholarship grandfathered in since it was granted when trans people were allowed to serve openly in the military, but “unfortunately, this policy is so new, waivers [and] exceptions haven’t been determined,” according to Pesquiera.

“[O’Neill] wasn’t able to salvage it, but the fact that he tried — it’s more than I can ask for,” he added.

The freshman has started a GoFundMe to try to make up for the scholarship he’s lost.