A University of Minnesota student is suing the school over its Title IX and pronoun policies, arguing they violate students' free speech rights by discouraging discussion of topics including biological sex, transgender issues, and women's sports.

Jackson Barrick, a rising senior at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, reportedly filed the lawsuit with the Southeastern Legal Foundation and Young America's Foundation.

The legal challenge argues that the university's policies are so broadly written that students may censor themselves for fear of disciplinary action.

"We face a lot of uncertainty in terms of what punishment we could possibly face because we're speaking about a controversial subject," Barrick told The Federalist.

According to the lawsuit, students could face harassment complaints or discipline for stating there are only two sexes, declining to use another person's preferred pronouns, opposing biological males competing with female athletes, or objecting to individuals using bathrooms designated for the opposite sex.

Southeastern Legal Foundation attorney Kim Hermann said the policies rely on subjective standards that can chill speech regardless of whether a student is ultimately punished.

"Even if it doesn't result in severe discipline, it has ultimately changed the entire course of that person's education and taken away their educational opportunities because it [is] a subjective standard," Hermann told The Federalist. "It can be as simple as someone reporting a person of the opposite sex being in a restroom; that is enough for them to file a complaint and for the University to launch an investigation."

The lawsuit argues the policies are inconsistent with President Donald Trump's 2025 executive order on Title IX and recent federal court rulings interpreting the law.

Under the university's sexual harassment policy, conduct may qualify as harassment if it "creates a work or educational environment that an individual finds, and a reasonable person would find, to be intimidating, hostile, or offensive."

The policy also lists a "pattern of disparaging comments or jokes about certain genders or based on gender stereotypes" as an example of prohibited conduct.

In addition, the university's pronoun policy instructs members of the campus community to use "the names, gender identities, and pronouns specified to them by other University members, except as legally required."

Barrick said the policies have affected how freely he speaks in classroom discussions.

"The way that the policies are written allows me to be punished under academic penalty if the speech that I produce or talk about is considered harassment," Barrick told The Federalist. "It really restricts what I can say."

Barrick, who also serves as president of the university's Young Americans for Freedom chapter, said the policies could also discourage the group from hosting speakers on detransitioning, biological sex, and other gender-related issues because of their broad language.

The University of Minnesota applies the policies across its five campuses, which serve about 70,000 students.

Rather than seeking a large financial award, the plaintiffs are asking for $1 in damages and a court order requiring the university to revise its policies.

"We just want to change the policy so it accurately reflects what we're trying to talk about that allows us to engage in free speech in a correct way that ensures liberty for us as students to engage in good political discourse," Barrick said.

Newsmax contacted the University of Minnesota for comment but did not receive an immediate response.