If you’re born female but identify as male, Smith College doesn’t want you. Make it make sense.
The College Fix reports:
‘Women-only’ Smith College faces civil rights complaint for admitting trans studentsSmith College, one of just a few dozen women’s colleges in the U.S., is facing a federal civil rights complaint for allegedly discriminating against applicants based on their sex.The private Massachusetts institution is a “women-only” college, but it “gives spots to ‘self-identifi[ed]’ transgender women that would have otherwise gone to biological women,” according to the complaint by Defending Education.The education watchdog organization filed the complaint to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights in June, alleging the college’s admissions practices discriminate against women in violation of Title IX. The civil rights law protects citizens against sex-based discrimination while also protecting single-sex spaces.“We are confident that the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights will investigate the complaint against Smith College,” Erika Sanzi, director of outreach at Defending Education, told The College Fix in a recent interview.The fact that Smith is a “women-only” college is not a problem; it’s the college’s admissions practices, according to Sanzi’s organization.“The college’s Equal Education Opportunity Policy indicates that it will follow Title IX and prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex in its federally funded programs,” the complaint states.“The very same policy, however, indicates that Smith interprets Title IX to prohibit ‘gender identity’ discrimination, despite federal case law and this Department’s guidance to the contrary,” it states.Defending Education argues that Smith’s admissions policies discriminate against women not only by admitting male students in positions meant for females, but also by refusing admission to women who identify as men.“Ironically, in what appears to be yet another exercise in sex discrimination, Smith admits natal men who identify as women but does not admit natal women who identify as men,” the complaint states.The college’s admissions page website says, “Smith is a women’s college and considers for admission any applicants who self-identify as women; cis, trans, and nonbinary women are eligible to apply to Smith.”Additionally, the complaint mentions the college’s “all-gender restroom and locker room policies, which divest female students of their privacy, safety, and equal educational opportunity,” and “appear to violate Title IX.”
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