• About
  • Editorial Board
    • Staff Writers
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
The Wellesley News -
  • News and Features
    • The Wellesley (COVID) 100
      The Wellesley (COVID) 100
    • In memory of Professor Rebecca Summerhays
      In memory of Professor Rebecca Summerhays
    • Trans flag controversy: College power washes staircase after trans flag is painted over Harry Potter spray paint
      Trans flag controversy: College power washes staircase after trans flag is painted over Harry Potter spray paint
    • News
      • News in Brief
      • Nation & World
      • President’s Corner
      • Senate Report
    • Features
      • Alumnae Spotlight
      • Eye on Science
      • Faculty Focus
      • LGBTQIA+ Column
  • Opinions
    • The News in Conversation: Wellesley Against Mass Incarceration
      The News in Conversation: Wellesley Against Mass Incarceration
    • Editorial Board calls for keeping up trans flag murals
      Editorial Board calls for keeping up trans flag murals
    • No, Elon Musk’s Twitter will not restore free speech
      No, Elon Musk’s Twitter will not restore free speech
    • Staff Editorial
    • Letters to the Editor
    • The Elephant in the Room
  • Arts
    • Chloe Gong could publish her grocery list and I’d pay $20 for it (Books Before Boys review)
      Chloe Gong could publish her grocery list and I’d pay $20 for it (Books Before Boys review)
    • RIP to Wanda, the male betta fish (Books Before Boys review)
      RIP to Wanda, the male betta fish (Books Before Boys review)
    • When talking to ghosts only worsens your existential dread (Books Before Boys review)
      When talking to ghosts only worsens your existential dread (Books Before Boys review)
    • Arts In The News
    • Reviews
    • Music Peek
    • Books Before Boys
  • Health and Wellness
    • February Student Athlete of the Month
      February Student Athlete of the Month
    • Athletics Update
      Athletics Update
    • Victoria Garrick Speaks on Mental Health
      Victoria Garrick Speaks on Mental Health
    • Athlete of the Week
    • Boston Sports Update
    • The Vegan Digest
    • The SHE Corner
  • The Wellesley Snooze
    • Wellesley News Leadership Changes Completely Peacefully Without Any Suspicious Disappearances At All
      Wellesley News Leadership Changes Completely Peacefully Without Any Suspicious Disappearances At All
    • Solve Your Connection Problems With Wellesley Insecure
      Solve Your Connection Problems With Wellesley Insecure
    • Mayhem strikes Wellesley as paper towels removed from campus
      Mayhem strikes Wellesley as paper towels removed from campus
  • Miscellanea
    • President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
      President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
    • Administrators shocked to learn that students dislike being left in dark
      Administrators shocked to learn that students dislike being left in dark
    • 50 Lies You Tell Yourself in Order to Survive Until Graduation
      50 Lies You Tell Yourself in Order to Survive Until Graduation
    • The Dose
    • The Olive Branch
    • Multimedia
      • Galleries
      • Infographics
      • Videos
By Sara Rathod News, News and FeaturesMarch 9, 2015

Wellesley officially welcomes applications from trans women

By the time the next admission cycle rolls around, Wellesley will begin accepting applications from anyone who identifies as a woman, making Wellesley the fifth women’s college to officially open its doors to transgender women in the last six months. The decision was announced following a wave of declarations from Mills College, Mount Holyoke, Simmons and finally Bryn Mawr that they would alter their admission policies to be inclusive of trans women.

On Friday, President Kim Bottomly appeared before an auditorium full of students to answer their questions about the policy, which had just been released the day before.

“Today we are proud to say that Wellesley will open its doors to a more diverse population of women,” President Bottomly stated.

The official announcement of the new trustee’s decision, which was sent out via email, says that anyone who lives as a woman and consistently identifies as a woman will be considered for admission. That excludes trans men, who will no longer be eligible to apply to Wellesley.

The policy is mainly based on self-identification but may require a student to include a letter — for example from a parent, healthcare provider, teacher or clergy — if that student’s gender identity is not clearly reflected in the rest of the application materials. The College is aware that the Free Application for Student Aid, or FAFSA, forms is often based on legal documents which are notoriously difficult and expensive to change. Several states like Idaho and Tennessee still refuse to alter the sex on a person’s birth certificate.

Students who identify as non-binary — outside of the two-gender system or challenging that system — must have been designated female at birth in order to be considered for admission to Wellesley. Once admitted to Wellesley, the College will not make any attempt to distinguish those who identify as male from those who identify as female. That means that if, after being accepted to Wellesley, a student who comes to identify publicly as a trans man, he will still be able to graduate with a Wellesley degree.

In practice, the inclusion of trans women and exclusion of trans men will likely only affect a small percentage of the population. In fact, there are more men from other colleges who are cross-registered at Wellesley from schools like Olin, Babson and MIT than there are trans men who attend Wellesley.

Still, the question of how to adapt Wellesley’s admission policy to keep pace with our understanding of gender in the 21st century has prompted soul-searching on the part of students, faculty, staff and alumnae as to what Wellesley’s role is as a women’s college in today’s world.

The President’s Advisory Committee on Gender at Wellesley (PACGW), which was charged with exploring that very question, agreed in their very first meeting on the underlying assumption that Wellesley would remain a women’s college. The policy announced last week again reaffirmed the College’s mission to educate women.

“Throughout its history, Wellesley has remained true to itself and true to the vision of its founders,” Bottomly said, adding, “It has not done so by remaining static and unchanging.”

Now that the College has clarified its policy, it will turn its attention to how best to implement it. The administration and faculty, in consultation with the PACCGW, will develop procedures and guidelines to implement the policy in time for the next admission cycle.

 

Share on

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Google +
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Previous articleWellesley computer science department hosts 2^5 Cirque du CS
Next articleWellesley to accept applications from trans women

You may also like

The Wellesley (COVID) 100

In memory of Professor Rebecca Summerhays

Trans flag controversy: College power washes staircase after trans flag is painted over Harry Potter spray paint

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

Top Articles

Sorry. No data so far.

Recent Tweets

Tweets by @Wellesley_News

The independent student newspaper of Wellesley College since 1901.

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

  • About
  • Editorial Board
    • Staff Writers
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
COPYRIGHT © 2022 THE WELLESLEY NEWS
Back to top