Troy, N.Y. — Students at a Troy college are planning to go topless today to protest treatment of a student who identifies as androgynous, according to the Albany Times Union.

The incident occurred Sunday when a college security officer approached Cedar Brock, who was sunbathing topless in a public park along the Troy campus of The Sage Colleges.

The officer asked if Brock was a boy or girl and Brock responded "neither."

"I'm androgynous," Brock said, according to the Times Union.

The interaction led to a standoff that eventually involved Troy police, who insisted that Brock put on a shirt and told the student that city law forbids women from going topless in public.

Brock initially refused to put on a shirt, but did so after about 10 minutes. Troy police arrived on the scene shortly after initial contact with the Sage officer, the Times Union said.

Brock felt "forced to put a shirt back on," according to the paper.

"I was scared," Brock said.

Brock was sitting in the park with friends for a few hours while wearing a "binder" that restrained and hid Brock's breasts, according to the Times Union.

Brock decided to take the binder off because it was hot.

The incident angered students on campus, who used the hashtag #IStandwithCedar to show support on social media.

The topless protest is planned for 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. today at the park where the incident occurred, the Times Union said.

Several states have been debating issues involving the rights of transgender individuals and others with non-traditional gender identities, the paper noted.

A North Carolina law that critics say discriminates against transgender individuals and others has sparked backlash. Other states have wrestled with the issues as well.

The president of The Sage Colleges said it was investigating the incident. It was inappropriate for the officer to ask Brock's gender, the president, Susan Scrimshaw, told the Times Union.

"It's very important that our staff, including our security staff, understand the changing culture," she said. "They have to catch up. We have to make sure that we are a community of support and respect."

Scrimshaw noted that the security officer was not the one who called Troy police. Those officers responded to complaints from the public, Scrimshaw told the Times Union.

Brock and other students insisted that state law allows public toplessness, regardless of gender. State court rulings have made it legal to go topless, although the law still bars female toplessness in public for commercial purposes, according to the Times Union.

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