Smith College changes admission policy to allow transgender applicants

[suzifrommd]

Smith College changes admission policy to allow transgender applicants

By Joshua Barajas  May 4, 2015

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/smith-college-changes-admission-policy-allow-transgender-applicants/

Smith's new policy follows similar recent changes to admission practices at Mount Holyoke and Wellesley and other women's colleges.

The past year, students held rallies to protest the school's refusal to admit transgender women. More specifically, a transgender woman, Justin Kilian, was barred from attending the October 2014 meeting with the school's Board of Trustees, Buzzfeed reported.

In 2013, Smith College told a transgender high school student, Calliope Wong, that she didn't qualify for attendance because her home state of Connecticut didn't legally recognize her as a female.

In a Tumblr blog post, Wong said she would have to undergo sex reassignment surgery so that she can legally change her gender identity in Connecticut.

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After the Smith College Admissions Battle: Uncertain but Hopeful Future

By Suzi Chase on May 8, 2015

https://www.susans.org/2015/05/08/smith-college-admissions-battle-uncertain-hopeful-future/

I hope it's not because so many of their competitors, including Mt. Holyoke, Bryn Mawr, and Wellseley, had all recently agreed to admit transgender women themselves. It's not a welcoming message to the next generation of bright transgender thinkers to be permitted entry solely because the college was pushed into it. Luckily, Smith has an infinite future in which to show us that transgender women are truly welcome on their campus. If the resulting decision leads to a reputation for treating their transgender applicants and community members equitably and with respect, it will help us forget the negative messages sent out by the sluggish way it arrived.