A recent debate on the controversies surrounding biological sex at the University of Delaware prompted the need for security measures as well as the creation of a safe space for students upset about the topic.

The university noted that as part of attending the debate, all guests had to “go through security.”

Held March 6, the “Debating Sex: Is Biological Sex Binary?” event featured Tomás Bogardus, a philosophy professor at Pepperdine University who defended male and female categories, and Agustín Fuentes, an anthropology professor at Princeton University who supported the concept that gender is a spectrum.

According to Spotlight Delaware, the event prompted criticism from some LGBTQ students who argued it “framed the existence and legitimacy of transgender and queer people as something up for debate.”

“Seeing the faculty put on an event that challenges those queer identities is kind of like a slap in the face,” one student told the news outlet.

The debate led to the creation of a safe space, Spotlight Delaware reported:

Still, multiple student groups gathered for a separate event, scheduled for the same time as the debate, to provide what they said would be a safe space for students to discuss how it impacted them. 

Some argued that the UD-sanctioned event should have been framed as a conversation, saying the word “debate” suggests that one side must ultimately be right. 

Others pointed to the power imbalance of the university-backed event, arguing it was unfair to expect vulnerable students to defend their identities in front of professors and their peers.

The debate was co-hosted by the Philosophy, Women & Gender Studies, and Anthropology departments, the university’s website states.

The safe space prompted some criticism.

Brandon Warmke, a philosophy professor at the University of Florida, posted on X: “Multiple student groups didn’t attend, created a safe space to discuss how the debate affected them. I don’t know who taught these students to be so fragile, but I do know that plenty of faculty behave the exact same way.”

A video of the debate is available on the university’s website.