Women’s liberal-arts college Bryn Mawr in Pennsylvania has announced it will soon start accepting applications from “transgender, non-binary and gender nonconforming applicants.”
In September, Bryn Mawr President Kim Cassidy proposed a board working group to create greater clarity in the college’s undergraduate admissions policy. After months of study and consultation, the board of trustees voted at its Feb. 7 meeting to accept the board working group’s recommendation with regard to people who don’t identify as men.
A news release from the college states, “In addition to those applicants who were assigned female at birth, the applicant pool will be inclusive of transwomen and of intersex individuals who live and identify as women at the time of application. Intersex individuals who do not identify as male are also eligible for admission. Those assigned female at birth who have taken medical or legal steps to identify as male are not eligible for admission.”
Last year, a Change.org petition stated, “Avoiding a well-defined policy does not allow for greater inclusivity in admissions; on the contrary, it creates unnecessary and discouraging roadblocks for trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming students applying to Bryn Mawr. The Bryn Mawr community deserves a clear, intentional, and well-articulated admissions policy protecting all prospective students, including trans, nonbinary, and intersex students, and especially trans women. In addition to a comprehensive admissions policy, we need campus protections and support for trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming students and applicants. Without these basic changes, Bryn Mawr cannot claim to be a women’s college or an advocate for gender equality.”
Bryn Mawr President Cassidy’s statement adds that in some cases, “where an applicant’s gender identity is not clearly reflected in their application materials,” Bryn Mawr might ask for additional information “which could include verifiable legal or medical steps taken to affirm gender. In evaluating such additional information, the college fully intends to be as flexible and inclusive as possible.”
A letter from Bryn Mawr board chair Arlene Gibson clarified, “Within the context of our mission as a women’s college, all Bryn Mawr students will continue to be valued and supported members of the community, no matter how their gender identity shifts during their time at the college.”
Bryn Mawr College is a selective, private women’s liberal-arts college founded in 1885.
