Transgender Student Sues Christian University for Expelling Her -- Do You Agree With Her Claims?

In 2011, Domaine Javier's perplexing story began to make media rounds. See, Javier, born a male, has since transitioned and now considers herself a woman. A few years back, the transgender student was studying to be a nurse -- that is, until she was expelled from California Baptist University for purportedly concealing her true identity. It is a complicated scenario -- one we first covered on TheBlaze in Nov. 2011. Now, Javier is suing her former college for expelling her in a legal battle that is sure to create controversy.

Let's take a moment to briefly recap what unfolded. Javier was apparently booted from the school after being accused of committing fraud on her application; she checked "female" when filling it out, The Baptist Press reported at the time. California Baptist viewed this action as fraudulent, however the student claims she didn't think she was doing anything wrong and that she was simply selecting her self-perceived identity.

In fact, she has been identifying as a woman, she claims, since she was a toddler. At 13, she began acting on her emotions by dressing, thinking and acting like a girl. While the college apparently wasn't aware of these factors when she applied, Javier's appearance on an MTV program called "True Life: I’m Passing as Someone I’m Not," apparently alerted them to her intriguing biographical nature.

Here's an old media report during which she describes what unfolded:

As the Baptist Press has reported in the past, California Baptist forbids students from pre-marital sex and has a view on marriage that limits it to one man and one woman. Obviously, allowing in a transgender student would be problematic considering the college's theological views -- however there is no language on the books that explicitly forbids such admittance to the school.

Javier said back in 2011 that she knew the college was Christian, but that she had no idea that it was a part of the Southern Baptist Convention and that she was potentially violating the rules by not selecting the gender she was born with.

Fast forward to 2013 and she is now suing the college under California's Unruh Civil Rights Act, a law that prevents discrimination based on a variety of factors (sexual orientation is among them), Salon reports.

Some experts believe that policies held at Christian schools set these individuals up for failure. If, indeed, Javier had selected male, it's likely she would have been flagged by California Baptist officials, anyway. Still, for better or for worse, others would support the school's right to crack down on issues pertaining to gender identity and sexuality.

Here's the MTV episode that likely tipped off college officials:

Paul Southwick, Javier's lawyer, believes that what's happened to his client, though, is entirely unfair. In an interview with The Huffington Post, he elaborated.

"I think that there is a lack of discussion within Christian higher education on what to do with transgender persons, because they don’t fit in traditional categories that we can deal with -- like you can’t engage in homosexual conduct, or we believe in marriage between a man and a woman only," he told the outlet. "But in terms of transgender persons who aren’t necessarily engaging in any behavior, there really hasn’t been much of a discussion or a policy, and they really get left in a very uncertain position."

The lawsuit argues that the student lost more than a half million dollars in scholarship monies, however the main issue being argued is about opportunity -- something Javier believes she was unfairly denied, Salon adds.

"I believe that education is for everyone, regardless of their gender. Everyone deserves a shot at a bright future," Javier said in an email to the Huffington Post this week. "CBU deprived me of this right and treated me unfairly -- something no one deserves."

Do you agree with Javier's argument? Take the poll, below:

(H/T: Salon)

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