News

Saint Mary’s College Transgender Allowance Policy Changes

Adelyn Rabbitt, Co-Editor-in-Chief

February 16, 2024

Saint Mary’s College logo on transgender flag

South Bend is the location of two sister Catholic schools, Notre Dame University and Saint Mary’s College. While Notre Dame is open to any gender and sex, Saint Mary’s has a female-only admission policy. Saint Mary’s has recently taken on the topic of the allowance of transgender women into female-only schools due to an ongoing call by the community to open its admission pool to women assigned male at birth (AMAB). After some consideration, Saint Mary’s announced on November 21, 2024, that their policy would change to accept anyone “whose sex is female or who consistently live and identify as women” (National Catholic Reporter) starting in the fall 2024 semester. By adopting this anti-discrimination policy, Saint Mary’s made a huge step toward equality for transgender people, especially in the catholic community.

This change did not come without backlash from the local community and the Saint Mary’s Alumni Association. In a statement addressing the policy changes, Bishop Kevin Rhoades, who leads the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese, commented, “It is disappointing that I, as bishop of the diocese in which Saint Mary’s College is located, was not included or consulted on a matter of important Catholic teaching”. Claiming that the change departs from Catholic teachings and defies the values upon which the school was built, Bishop Rhoades urged the school to rethink their decision and reverse the policy change. Other prominent figures in the local Catholic community spoke up with their disagreement with the new policy, while others, as well as many current students and young people, stated their support for the policy. The amount of support was outweighed by the anger of those who were in opposition, and after receiving such overwhelming criticism, Saint Mary’s was quick to rescind their decision. On December 21, 2024, the school announced that they were reverting to their old policy “as a reflection of our College’s commitment to live our Catholic values as a loving and just community” (National Catholic Reporter), only a month after the policy had originally been changed.

This policy confusion has been taken by the community as a clear show of Saint Mary’s willingness to uphold discriminatory and transphobic policies. Though the school may have lost donors and support by upholding the new policy, they would surely have gained new support from different groups of people, including those who supported the new policy as well as trangender activist groups. Saint Mary’s giving into criticism and reversing the anti-discrimination policy was seen by many as a discouraging step back for the transgender community.

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About the Contributor

Adelyn Rabbitt, Co-Editor-in-Chief

Adelyn Rabbitt, known as Addie by most, is a senior at John Adams High School and Co-Editor of The Tower. This is her second and final year writing for The Tower, and she is very excited about what this year will hold. She values equality and education, as well as enjoying every moment, even when she’s in school. This marks her fourth year on both the John Adams Swim Team and in Mock Trial, with each season culminating in her team's participation in the Mock Trial State Competitions. In her first two years at John Adams, she also participated in track and soccer. In addition, she greatly enjoys going to school events, such as football games and other productions. Addie considers some of her biggest accomplishments to be going to state three years in a row with her Mock Trial team, “For Da Gram” (this year they will win the State Competition), taking multiple International Baccalaureate classes, and getting tickets to the Eras Tour to see Taylor Swift in concert (it was the best experience of her life). She also highly values all of the friendships she has made in high school and throughout her life. Addie’s now-graduated friend Jasmine Kazmirski says, “Adelyn is a very compassionate and accepting person. She is one of the most caring people I’ve met in my life.” Addie loves to be with others and is a very socially-minded person. The idea of college is feeling very daunting to Addie at the moment, though she knows that she will thoroughly enjoy it and thrive in that environment when the time comes. She has not made a decision on her college choices yet, though she is leaning toward choosing Indiana University at Bloomington. As for possible majors, she is considering many different possibilities and is too indecisive to choose one at the moment. The same goes for career pathways, though she has definitely ruled out anything in the medical field, due to her squeamish reaction to any bodily injuries or blood. Outside of school, Addie works multiple jobs. She is certified in CPR and works as a swim teacher as well as a lifeguard during the summer. During the school year, she works at a coffee shop called DeLo’s at the local farmers market. In her free time, she likes to read, hang out with friends, listen to music constantly, and go on long walks. She is a tote bag enthusiast and is rarely seen without one. She is very excited for her final year as a reporter for The Tower, being an editor and writing on topics that she is passionate about.