[GRIN] Fwd: Winning a Trans Woman Inclusive Policy at Smith!

[Justin Kilian]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Justin Kilian <jkilian at umass.edu>
Date: Sat, Sep 20, 2014 at 6:19 PM
Subject: Winning a Trans Woman Inclusive Policy at Smith!
To: "Angie M. Tissi" <atissi at amherst.edu>, Angie Tissi <atissi at umass.edu>,
Pride Alliance <pridealliance at amherst.edu>, Jishava Patel <jishava at umass.edu>,
erimmer at hampshire.edu, alevin at hcc.edu, Sarah Fraas <sfraas at smith.edu>,
Jason McGourty <jmcgourty at smith.edu>, ewcmail at admin.umass.edu,
info at masstpc.org, nycii_v at rusellma.net, outnow at comcast.net,
GenQ at communityaction.us, TREE at communityaction.us,
unity-of-the-pioneer-valley-owner at yahoogroups.com, PFLAGPV at valinet.com,
przone at valinet.com, stonewall at stuaf.umass.edu, Stonewall Center Speakers
Bureau <swcspeak at stuaf.umass.edu>, ventureout.geo at yahoo.com,
geo at external.umass.edu, UMASS ISO <iso.umass at gmail.com>,
cepadirector at stuaf.umass.edu, lindah at wost.umass.edu, Linda Hillenbrand <
lindah at umass.edu>, stpec at sbs.umass.edu, Sonny Nordmarken <snordmar at umass.edu
>


​
*Q: Trans women at Smith?*
*A: Trans women at Smith.*

We are Q&A, a group on Smith College campus dedicated to an inclusive
admissions policy for trans women.

-

*What is the current policy?*

A woman who is unable to obtain all female gender markers on her
transcripts, teacher and guidance counselor letters of recommendation, and
midyear academic report cannot attend Smith. Although the Common App
requires legal sex as listed on a birth certificate, Smith has an
unofficial practice of advising trans women to “just check female” on the
Common App, but this “policy” is nowhere to be found on the official Smith
website or on its admissions brochures.

*How is the current policy problematic?*

It's incredibly difficult, time consuming, and often impossible to change
one's documents so that they have all female gender markers, especially as
a high school student, and especially for low-income women. Most states
allow individual school districts to decide if students can change the
gender markers on their documents. A recent national study
<http://www.thetaskforce.org/downloads/reports/reports/ntds_full.pdf> of
trans high school students (of all genders) by the National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force found that less than half of students are able to get their
documents changed. Additionally, Ada Comstock Scholars, who are not
traditional-aged students, have explained to us that many schools will also
be unable to change gender markers on outdated or paper records.

*What does an inclusive admission's policy look like?*

Because we recognize that the avenues the government provides to affirm
one’s gender legally are inaccessible to most prospective Smithies, Q&A’s
ultimate goal is that all trans women can apply to Smith College regardless
of legal or surgical status or the support of their schools and families.
Mills College, a women's college in California, does not "check" gender
markers on application materials at all. Recently, Mount Holyoke has also
adopted a self-identifying admissions policy. No issues have been reported
relating to these policies.

*How can I help?*

You can get involved in a number of ways:

   - Call any responsible Smith officials using this phone script
   <http://smith-q-and-a.tumblr.com/getinvolved> (or call and leave a
   message of your own creation!). Believe it or not, every call counts!
   - Email any responsible Smith officials. Every email counts too!
   - Attend the "Transforming Education: Trans Women's Inclusion at Smith"
   Panel on September 26th, from 4:30 - 6:00, in the Neilson Library Browsing
   Room on Smith College campus.
   - Sign up for further updates surrounding our events and talks with
   Smith administration attranswomenatSC at gmail.com
   - Inform others and spread the word!


<https://www.facebook.com/transwomenatSmith>
<https://twitter.com/transwomenatSC>   Visit our website
<http://smith-q-and-a.tumblr.com/> for more information!
​
​
​

Any questions? Contact gramsey at smith.edu, swerthmann at smith.edu,
jmcgourty at smith.edu, or etizard at smith.edu for more information!
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