Morehouse College Gender Identity Admissions and Matriculation Policy
Morehouse will now start to admit students who identify as men in Fall 2020.
Morehouse College recognizes itself as the only black all-male college in America and one of the oldest HBCU’s in the nation. The institution prides itself on the commitment of preparing young men with disciplined minds who will lead lives of leadership and service. Morehouse is a world-wide brand and home to some well-known alumni such as Martin Luther King Jr., Spike Lee and Maynard H. Jackson.
On Saturday, April 13th, 2019 the Morehouse College Board of Trustees approved a Gender Identity Policy that will allow individuals who identify as men, regardless of the sex that was assigned to them at birth, to be considered for admission into the college in the fall of 2020. In addition, in the event that a male student begins to transition into a female, they will then no longer be eligible for enrollment into the college. This new policy will only allow trans men to be admitted. Therefore, trans women or anyone who identifies as a woman will not be considered for admittance. Back in 2017, another famous HBCU for women, Spelman College, implemented similar changes in a new Admissions and Enrollment policy they released. However, these policies differ in one way in that Spelman’s policy states that if a woman that is admitted transitions into a male, the college will permit that student to continue and to matriculate and graduate from Spelman. Morehouse Vice President for Enrollment Management, Terrence Dioxon, put out the following statement,
“ In a rapidly changing world that includes a better understanding of gender identity, we’re proud to expand our admissions policy to consider trans men who want to be part of an institution that has produced some of the greatest leaders in social justice, politics, business, and the arts for more than 150 years,” said Dixon, “The ratification of this policy affirms the College’s commitment to develop men with disciplined minds who will lead lives of leadership and service.”
In years past, Morehouse has made numerous efforts to improve the inclusion of the LGBTQ+ students with their relation with the other students on campus. Back in 2010, Morehouse College , held its first Gay Pride rally and in 2013 they offered their first LGBTQ+ course at the college. These efforts were a result of several issues that occurred over the past decade plus at the school that were directly related to the LGBTQ+ community on campus. The 2002 assault of Gregory Lane in which fellow student, Aaron Price, mistakenly thought Lane was making a sexual advance towards him. Gregory Lane suffered a fractured skull in a targeted attack with a baseball bat.
Also, in 2009 the college made changes to its dress code due to the growing concern with multiple students who were wearing women’s clothing around campus. Both of these incidents have had an adverse effect on the climate of the Morehouse campus and the corresponding relationships with students and their LGBTQ+ counterparts.
This new policy has received some push back from fellow students and even faculty here at the college. I asked several individuals who had affiliation with the college about whether they agree or not with the new policy that has been put in place. One individual, who wished to remain anonymous, stated, “I don’t agree with it. Why mess up the body just to identify as something other than you were born as? That’s something mental that’s the problem, not physical. Its not being true to yourself or being true to Morehouse if you self-identify as a man but you know you were once a woman.”
Another individual, who also wished to remain anonymous stated, “It is what it is. We’re not in a position right now to accommodate to what people wished to be identified as when there are other lingering issues on this campus such as living conditions for students and constant financial setbacks that hinder us as a Morehouse community. In a perfect world it sounds good but no I don’t agree with it, it is what it is.”
This new policy was developed after a year plus of engagement with faculty, staff, students and alumni by a task force that was curated by President David A. Thomas. There will now be campus needs to create more inclusive programs and facilities to support the new policy. Morehouse officials say that they will continue using the “language of brotherhood” essentially meaning, masculine pronouns will still be used and applied when they address the student body. The question now is whether the college will be able to fulfill expectations within this new policy.
Brandon Jack. From Atlanta, GA. English major, Journalism minor. Senior at Morehouse College
