Students at Wellesley College, the elite Massachusetts women’s school that counts Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright among its alumnae, voted Tuesday night to make transgender men and nonbinary students eligible for admission in a nonbinding ballot initiative.
Despite this vote, Wellesley does not plan to change its admissions policies, which do not allow transgender men to enroll, school President Paula Johnson said in a statement released Wednesday.
The ballot initiative passed as part of the college government election process, according to a spokesperson, who said the school does not release vote counts or percentages. It also proposed using gender-inclusive language at the college, according to the student newspaper, the Wellesley News, which reported that two students originally proposed the ballot measure last month.
“Although there is no plan to revisit our mission as a women’s college or our admissions policy, we will continue to engage all students in the important work of building an inclusive academic community where everyone feels they belong,” Johnson said Wednesday.
Wellesley’s “gender policy” states that it “invites applications from all those who live as women and consistently identify as women,” including transgender women, as well as nonbinary people “who were assigned female at birth and who feel they belong in our community of women.” The college also states that it supports students who transition after being admitted and that they are allowed to remain and graduate.
Of the approximately 30 women’s colleges that exist, several of the top ones — including Spelman College, Scripps College, Bryn Mawr College, Barnard College and Smith College — have similar policies, mainly allowing admission only for students who identify as women. Wellesley was part of a slate of women’s colleges that in 2015 announced they would begin admitting transgender women.
Mount Holyoke College, also in Massachusetts, admits students…
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