Spelman College to Consider Admitting Transgender Students

Spelman (1)

Officials at Spelman college are working to convene a strategic task force that will provide recommendations on whether the school will begin admitting and enrollingĀ transgender students.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, college President Mary Schmidt Campbell announced the news in a welcome back letter to students and staff Thursday, in addition to posting it on the private school’s webpage.

“Ingrid Hayes, vice president for Enrollment Management will convene a task force that makes a recommendation to the president on the admission and enrollment of transgender students,” Campbell’s letter read.

In her announcement, the college president also noted the creation of a separate task force dedicated to developing a “a set of protocols and procedures for students, faculty and staff to follow in the event of an emergency.”

Reports from both committees are expected by the end of the academic school year.

The all-female, historically Black college is the latest to take a step toward inclusion of trans students. The AJC reports that other all-female institutions, dubbed The Seven Sisters Association, have already put policies in place to admit those students.

Campbell’s letter also announced a series of special events taking place at the school this year, including a voter registration drive, a President’s Book Circle, and a colloquium on gun violence.

Still independent.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top