I don't think the story here is about a backlash to gender ideology on campus per se: it's about a backlash to certain protest tactics that get used a lot. Nam

I don't think the story here is about a backlash to gender ideology on campus per se: it's about a backlash to certain protest tactics that get used a lot. Namely, the practice of protesting a respected lecturer whose ideas you disagree with, and pressuring the administration to support your position with a formal denunciation so strong it starts looking libelous against the lecturer, damaging their career and sometimes their personal lives. Sooner or later, this is bound to backfire legally, so the administration has to be worried about it becoming widespread. It also changes the power dynamic in the university, making administrators defer to students out of intimidation, and probably creating a lot of enmity in the process. Until convinced otherwise, I'm viewing this as an example of the administration trying to reassert itself, and this particular gender ideology case just happens to be the proxy battle for that.