linkThere's a battle brewing at the Seven Sisters over the growing population of transgender students. The question at its core: What kind of women's college awards diplomas to men?This is the latest subculture to emerge at the elite women's colleges in the Northeast known as the Seven Sisters – young women, some still teenagers, who, like Bartlett, are exploring the possibility of growing up to be men. And it's creating a social upheaval at these historically all-female enclaves as they wrestle with what to do about all this gender bending.
The Seven Sisters colleges were founded in the 19th century, and famous graduates have ranged from anthropologist Margaret Mead (Barnard) to actresses Stockard Channing (Radcliffe) and Meryl Streep (Vassar) to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (Wellesley). Vassar started accepting male students in 1969, and Radcliffe officially merged with Harvard College in 1999, leaving just five sisters – Mt. Holyoke, Bryn Mawr, Smith, Barnard, and Wellesley.
