Saint Mary’s Catholic women’s college weighs admission of transgender students

Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, will consider admitting transgender students next year in a major change for the 179-year-old Catholic women’s institution.

The decision was reportedly made in June by the school’s board, according to a report in the student paper, The Observer, this week.

President Katie Conboy notified staff in an email Tuesday of the school’s decision.

“This confidence from our Board underscores their commitment that as an employer, Saint Mary’s must stand firm in its position as an inclusive community leader, and that as educators, we should continue to create an environment where all women belong and thrive,” read Ms. Conboy’s email, according to the school paper.

A spokesperson from the college did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Alumni are outraged. One woman — who asked to remain anonymous — said the school failed to notify alumni about their plans for five months despite sending monthly updates via email.

“There are several alumnae and students who are very upset.  We don’t necessarily know each other, and we don’t really have any way to connect right now.  Lots of [direct messages] to try to find some way to connect us together to figure out how to respond on a larger scale,” she said.

There’s also a Change.org petition with 1,200 signatures as of Saturday morning aimed at protecting the school’s female Catholic identity.  

“Students are worried about their positions in sports and or safety in spaces such as bathrooms or dorms. Students feel unheard and ignored,” the petition reads. “Saint Marys needs to uphold strong Catholic values while still being courteous to all. Students, women, and alumnae must take a stand and protect what the Sisters of the Holy Cross created and fought for.”

As of Monday, a few days after the petition was launched, it was taken down. When the former webpage for the petition is searched, Change.org reads: “This petition isn’t available. Either the URL is incorrect, it violated our Community Guidelines, or the starter removed it.”

A spokesperson from Change.org did not respond to a request for comment.  

Saint Mary’s is a liberal arts college established by the Sisters of the Holy Cross. It has less than 2,000 undergraduate students.

There are fewer than 40 women’s colleges in the U.S., down from 230 about 60 years ago, according to the Women’s College Coalition.

A report this year said most of the country’s female colleges have moved to admit transgender women. The wave of LGBTQ activism was sparked in 2013 after an Asian trans woman was denied admission initially to Smith College in Massachusetts, CNN reported in May.