Hi Julia, while I understand where you are coming from, I don’t think you are fully understanding the point that is being made. I don’t think you would find a single Wellesley student who doesn’t acknowledge the sexism and misogyny of our world, and the way in which the patriarchy influences our lives.
However, articles like these are NOT asking for the voices of women to be silenced. Uplifting the voices of trans and nonbinary sibs does not mean silencing women. Both groups can speak and be hear at the same time! I would argue that the strong voices of both groups are absolutely necessary to fight the patriarchy, because destroying the patriarchy also means destroying the theory of gender as we know it.
No one is asking for Wellesley to stop empowering women. As a cis woman, I have found great value in the educational space of Wellesley that I don’t think I would be getting at a co-ed school. However, I think what most of us want is for Wellesley to be an empowering space for people of ALL marginalized genders. Trans and non-binary sibs also deserve spaces which are safe, inclusive, and empowering, and many of us feel that historically women’s colleges can and should become some of those spaces, since they have a history of empowering marginalized genders.

At last a sensible rejoinder. Thank you!

Wellesley College, like other women’s colleges, exists because we live in a sexist society. Women are still second class citizens in this country. We are still grossly underrepresented in the highest rungs of power, whether politics, business, law, the sciences… the list goes on. We still make 82 cents for every dollar a man makes. (And that disparity is worse for women of color.) We are still talked over in meetings. We are still not credited for our ideas. We still get saddled with balancing work and family obligations in ways men do not.

Patriarchy is exhausting and relentless, and Wellesley exists to prepare women to survive—even thrive—in the face of it all. And until we live in a world where women are equal to men, we will need institutions that center us. We need institutions whose explicit mission is to empower women.

So please understand what articles like this are asking. You are asking that women be silenced and erased from one of the very few spaces that truly centers us—and all for the benefit of men (or, if not men, then people who do not identify as women). That is misogyny in action.

Let me very clear: Trans women should come to Wellesley. Trans men should come if they want to. Gender queer people should come if they want to. And all should be addressed with their correct names and pronouns in classes, in residence halls, among peers and by staff.

But if the tiny minority of trans men and gender queer people who attend Wellesley truly think the College should drop its commitment to “women” because that term doesn’t fit *their* personal preferences, frankly I’d invite them to check their misogyny.

And finally, please be clear with yourselves and your audience that articles like this don’t speak for all trans men and gender queer students. There are plenty of trans men who have graduated from Wellesley who are horrified by these attempts to de-center women in the College’s mission. Plenty of trans men and gender queer people who attend Wellesley recognize that their personal identities do not—and should not—take precedence over the rights of women to have a higher educational space that centers them. Plenty of trans students recognize the need for women’s colleges. And quite honestly, students attending Wellesley who do not recognize why it’s gravely important for the College to center women should probably consider transferring to a coed school! It sounds like they are not appreciating and taking advantage of what makes Wellesley College so special: it’s steadfast commitment to women’s empowerment.