Wellesley College, one of the most prestigious women’s colleges in the United States, will vote on Tuesday in a non-binding referendum on whether to admit transgender males.
Trans men are already attending Wellesley, having transitioned after arriving on campus. But this would be a step that would end Wellesley’s identification as a place of education for females.
Opponents, including the president, Paula Johnson, said the referendum changes Wellesley’s mission, which they say was founded to educate women. Last week, Johnson raised the ire of activists by saying in a statement that Wellesley is “a women’s college that admits cis, trans and nonbinary students — all who consistently identify as women.”
There was fierce pushback. Students have held an ongoing sit-in at the administration building. The student newspaper’s editorial board wrote that “we disapprove and entirely disagree” with the president.
Departments issued statements in support of the referendum. An associate provost for equity and inclusion said the employees in her office were “deeply challenged” by the president’s email.
And an open letter signed by hundreds of faculty, staff and alumni said the college was abandoning the radicalism of its creation “by focusing on the letter, rather than the spirit, of its founding.”
“We’re just asking the administration to put on paper what’s already true of the student body,” Alexandra Brooks, the student body president said. “Trans men go to Wellesley, nonbinary people go to Wellesley, and they kind of always have.”
The issue of admitting trans men has roiled other traditional women’s schools as well.
Some women’s colleges have stricter policies. Sweet Briar College, a small private school in Virginia, requires a birth certificate or amended birth certificate indicating the applicant’s gender as female.
The college’s president, Meredith Jung-En Woo, said Sweet Briar welcomes trans students if they meet the admissions policy. She has not received much pushback, she said.
“For people who are gender nonconforming, they may feel more comfortable in an environment that doesn’t have men in it, cis men in it, because of the greater likelihood of experiencing harassment,” said Dr. Genny Beemyn, the director of the Stonewall Center at University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Elizabeth Um, who heads the Wellesley anti-abortion organization, said she attended the school because of its identity as a woman’s college.
“If you don’t think you can fit in here, then you have your pick of thousands of other coed colleges in the country or the world,” she said, adding, “We’re a women’s college. That’s the core identity of the school, and we can’t start watering that down.”
Um has not actively opposed the referendum partly because it’s going to pass by a large margin, and also, showing her opposition on campus is akin to “social suicide.”
Because the transgender lobby is so open-minded and welcomes all viewpoints for polite debate, right?
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