Insanity? Batshit Insanity?

[Buff]

How's this for some batshit insanity?

Smith students vote for gender neutral wording

Smith College students earlier this month made a decision some might find mystifying: Although Smith is a women's college, the students voted to change the language of their student constitution so that the pronouns "she" and "her" would be replaced with gender-neutral terms.

The vote applies only to student government documents, and not to official college publications, so none of the college's brochures will excise the female pronouns.

The student government vote is an indication of a deeper issue facing Smith College, and other same-sex institutions, which is that a growing number of students identify themselves as transgender, and say they feel uncomfortable with female pronouns.

"Smith College is a college for women, and within that there is a place for all kinds of women," said Brenda Allen, director of institutional diversity.

In addition to the issue of gender identity, within the transgendered movement there is also the matter of sex-reassignment surgery, formerly known as sex-change operations.

Dean of the College Maureen Mahoney said there is no policy in place at Smith that prevents students from undergoing sex-reassignment surgery while students are at the college. But she admits that the matter raises complex issues that the college has yet to fully deal with.

Last edited by Buff at May 7 2003, 04:29 PM