Mills College makes history

Alexis Atwood

Mills College, an all-women’s college in Oakland, has let history walk through its front doors as it is the first of the 119 single-sex colleges in the country to ever consider accepting transgender people.

The school will be the only college allowing applicants to choose their gender as long as that choice is female.

With the LGBT community making a stand for themselves, it is about time everyone else starts to notice this as well.

While some people may be tired of hearing about the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender community fighting for their rights because they think it is overplayed, they may not realize that each time the group raises awareness for themselves, it is for a reason.

Those who do not identify in the LGBT community may not understand everything in life that is taken for granted because it is a privilege,such as being able to go to a good college. The right to marriage is one of the major concerns, but college is one of those things most people do not think about being an issue.

While the idea of a single-sex college may not appeal to all, whether it is for personal reasons or for financial reasons, some people feel more comfortable being around people of the same gender.

This may, however, create a problem for those already at the school and do not want to deal with those not biologically similar to them. What they need to realize that while their bodies may be different, their minds are probably more alike than they realize.

Even if a man is still in the process of turning into a woman, the mind is still thinking like a woman even if the body does not agree with them and it is something they cannot control.

Some people may also say the transgender community should stay out single-sex colleges but people have the right to choose which college they would like to go to if they qualify.

One solution to this problem would be to create colleges for transgender women and men specifically. This can give them a place to be with people who would be more like them than maybe a naturally-born male of female. These specific colleges could have special classes designed towards their community.

The addition of these types of colleges could let the transgender community have a safe haven to pursue an education and it would not force anyone to be around people they do not want to understand.

If people are already having a problem with the thought of a college just considering a transgender student, there could be a lot of trouble or discrimination if the student was accepted and taking classes at the college.

So while it is a great idea to involve the transgender community into same-sex colleges, it would only create more problems than it would solve.