hfct Smith petition.jpg

05.02.2013 | NORTHAMPTON -- Smith College students and members of Smith Q&A Richa Elwell and Ollie Schwartz hand petitions over to Deb Schaver, Dean of the Smith College admissions department, on Thursday. The petition asks Smith to welcome transgender women applicants.

(Photo by Dave Roback / The Republican)

NORTHAMPTON — Smith College transgender rights activists said Thursday they were encouraged that college administrators have agreed to continue meeting with them around the issue of admitting transgender women to the female-only school.



Members of Smith Q&A spoke after five of them delivered more than 4,000 signatures seeking admissions policies that are welcoming and supportive of transgender women to Debra Shaver, the college's admissions director. Smith Q&A is a campus group focusing on raising awareness about transgender issues at Smith.



"They are taking steps to be more accommodating," Ollie J. Schwartz, a 22-year-old Smith senior and member of the organization, said of the administration.



He and other students said the college has agreed to disregard the gender box on applicants' Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, something that could pave the way for Calliope Wong, a Connecticut transgender high school senior, to reapply to Smith.



Students started the petition drive through Change.org in reaction to the college's rejection of the application of Wong, a transgender woman.

Change.org is a website that describes itself as "the Web's leading platform for social change, empowering anyone, anywhere to start petitions that make a difference."

In rejecting Wong, Smith cited the fact that Wong had checked "male" on her FAFSA form, which is near-universally used by colleges in assessing eligibility for loans and needs-based awards.

When the issue became public, the college's media relations director, Kristen Cole, issue a statement to The Republican focusing on inconsistencies in Wong's application materials.



"It is important to note that an application from a transgender student is treated no differently from other applicants," Cole stated. "Every application Smith receives is considered on a case-by-case basis. As a women's college, Smith expects that all of the materials reflect an applicant's status as a woman."



"This is an evolving issue," Shaver said Thursday in accepting two boxes of paperwork with signatures on the steps of the Smith Admissions Office. "We want to be supportive of transgender women."



Shaver said the college has started a dialogue with the students that will continue in September.



Sarah B. Fraas, a 19-year-old Smith freshman, said the situation initially caused her to become disillusioned, but she feels better now that administrators are meeting with students.



She and Emily L. Coffin, an 18-year-old freshman, were among students who met with administrators Wednesday. Coffin said administrators had been worried that accepting a transgender woman would jeopardize the college's legal and traditional status as a women's college and might force it to admit men.



Coffin said administrators learned from their lawyers that that would not be the case.



"Coeducation is not going to be an issue. Smith will not be co-ed ever," Coffin said. "It does not threaten Smith's status as a women's college.



"I think it's wonderful that people are expressing their opinions," Cole stated in her e-mail to The Republican. "This is a complex and evolving issue on which people of good intent, at Smith and other places, hold a range of views. The petition is part of the larger, ongoing conversation in which Smith is involved. The Dean of the College has been meeting recently with a student diversity group about gender identity and gender expression at Smith."



Cole went on to state that the Resource Center for Sexuality & Gender along with the Student Government Association co-sponsored a discussion between students and representatives of the offices of admission and student life on the topic.