Women's College Returns Transgender Student's Application
BY MICHELLE GARCIA
MARCH 20 2013 1:20 PM EThttp://www.advocate.com/society/education/2013/03/20/womens-college-returns-transgender-students-applicationA high school senior applying to Smith College says she was told she could not apply to the school yet because her home state still identifies her as male.A female transgender high school senior who applied to Smith College, a women's college, was told she did not qualify to attend because she is not legally recognized as female in her home state of Connecticut.
Calliope Wong's application and fee were returned to her earlier this month. In a letter to Wong, Smith's dean of admission, Debra Shaver, told Wong that "Smith is a women's college, which means that undergraduate applicants to Smith must be female at the time of admission."
Smith College does have protocol to welcome transgender students, only as long as they legally identify as female at the time of admission. The school's policy also accepts transgender men if they transition after they become students.
"I am not a rapist; I am not a criminal, and it is not fair to assume that I am such a person," Wong wrote on her blog. "Thing is, I'm a girl who wants to just wants her fair shot at Smith."
Trans Student's Application Rejected From Smith College
Posted by Victoria on Tuesday, March 19, 2013http://keystonestudentvoice.com/2013/03/trans-students-application-rejected-from-smith-college/For many students, senior year of high school is a waiting game to hear back from colleges and universities. High school senior Calliope Wong's first choice was Smith College, an all women's school in Massachusetts. But, twice, Smith College Admissions rejected Calliope's application without being read. The reason? Calliope is a male-to-female transgender woman, who has identified as female through her adolescence.
Yet, to be recognized as a female in her home state of Connecticut, Calliope would have to undergo sexual confirmation surgery: a costly procedure that is not often a realistic option for a teenager. Without this change, Smith College's current policies make it impossible for Calliope to attend.
The Smith College website offers multiple resources for current students who identify as transgender, and states that, "Smith does not maintain records related to the gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation of its students. Once admitted, any student who completes the college's graduation requirements will be awarded a degree."
Calliope described Smith's policy as "essentially gate keeping twofold." Smith does not have any clear criteria for their definition of female, and requires all documents submitted by the student to read "female," which can cause serious issues with legal documents, such as the FASFA.
On March 5, Calliope's application was returned to her with a letter from the Dean of Admissions, reading,
Quote"We are returning your application for admission...As you may remember from our previous correspondence, Smith is a women's college, which means that undergraduate applicants to Smith must be female at the time of admission. Our expectation is that it is consistently reflected through the application that the student is a woman. Upon reviewing your file, this is not the case. Your FAFSA indicates your gender as male. Therefore, Smith cannot process your application."
Back in Pennsylvania, Bryn Mawr College, an all women's school in the seven sister consortium with Smith, also has language in their policies which could prevent transgender women from attending. A 2011 interview with the college's admissions office by a Bryn Mawr student revealed that only cisgender women are eligible for admission at the school.
