The University of Minnesota's Gender and Sexuality Center for Queer And Trans Life — yes, that's the real name — spent $800 on "gender affirming haircuts" on February 26, 2026, because apparently a regular barber isn't woke enough for today's college students.
The horror. Someone might accidentally get a trim without being asked their pronouns first.
The College Fix obtained public records covering about nine months of spending at this center — from July 1, 2025 through March 2026 — and the receipts are exactly as insane as you'd imagine. The $800 haircuts weren't even the most creative waste. The day before, on February 25, they dropped $685 on in-house nail appointments. Because nothing says "academic excellence" like a taxpayer-funded manicure.
But wait, there's more. The center also spent $250 on protein shakes for something called the "Trans and Queer Strength Group," which meets weekly. They blew $200 on a drag bingo event in August. They shelled out over $600 on pride flags. And they paid $800 to bring in N'Yomi Stewart — a "trans femme / non-binary" actor who starred in an off-Broadway play called "Prince Faggot" — as a speaker.
Add it all up and this center burned through more than $55,000 in just nine months. For a center with three employees.
Three. Employees.
Let's do some math. The center is run by Director Mycall Riley, whose listed pronouns are "any/all," alongside co-directors Layton Hernandez-Offner ("he/they") and Rick X Hoops ("they/he"). Three staffers. $55,000 in discretionary spending. That's over $18,000 per employee in what amounts to ideological party planning.
Jonathan Butcher, Acting Director of the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation, told The College Fix exactly what every parent in America is thinking. "The university is going in the opposite direction of public opinion," Butcher said, adding that "affirming this sexual confusion is not actually helping young people."
He's right. And he wasn't done.
"It's not illegal, but it's not a good use of funds at an academic institution," Butcher said. "Graduation rates are already mediocre at best. The focus should be on rigorous academics, not this."
Mediocre graduation rates. Gender affirming haircuts. Protein shakes for the Trans and Queer Strength Group. Connect the dots, folks.
Here's what kills me. Parents across this country are drowning in student loan debt. They're co-signing loans, raiding retirement accounts, and working second jobs so their kids can get a degree that might — might — land them a decent career. And the University of Minnesota is spending their money on nail appointments and drag bingo.
This isn't education. It's an ideological daycare with a $55,000 arts and crafts budget.
So the next time some politician tells you that college is "too expensive" and the government needs to forgive student loans, remember this story. Remember that $800 went to haircuts that affirm your gender. Remember that three employees at a single center spent more than most Americans earn in a year on flags, shakes, and speakers from off-Broadway plays you've never heard of.
Your tuition dollars at work, America. Hope the haircut was worth it.
