‘Trust Has Been Broken’: After Trans Policy Fallout, Controversy Still Simmers at St. Mary’s College
St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, is accustomed to its famous next-door neighbor grabbing all the headlines, but in November the all-women’s Catholic college found itself uncomfortably in the spotlight after its plan to admit male students identifying as females became public.
The resulting outcry ultimately prompted the school’s leadership to reverse course on Dec. 21. More than a month after that decision was made, however, the furor still hasn’t died down.
Sparked by concerns about the college’s direction — and suspicions that the transgender student policy is only on a temporary hold — upset students, faculty and alumnae are expressing their disapproval in a variety of ways, including boycotting St. Mary’s current fund drive, circulating a petition to have President Katie Conboy ousted, and launching a new watchdog group focused on protecting and strengthening the 180-year-old institution’s Catholic identity.
“Trust has been broken,” Priscilla Pilon, a 1986 graduate who also served on St. Mary’s alumnae board from 2008 to 2015, told the Register.
Signs of discontent abound in a private Facebook group of concerned members of the St. Mary’s community, which has grown rapidly since the policy change came to light on Nov. 21. The group now has over 840 members. Most are alumnae, but current students, parents, and other supporters are included.
Concerns about St. Mary’s fidelity to its Catholic identity aren’t necessarily new. But community members say the shock of the proposed policy has been a galvanizing force for raising wider awareness of the college’s current trajectory and for bringing like-minded individuals together to do something about it.
“This was so far from Catholic teaching,” said Shannon Ferguson, a parent of a current student, who started the Facebook group. “I think it just alerted so many people.”
What’s more, Conboy and her administration now face pushback from the other side, too. Alumnae and LGBTQ activists who were initially supportive of the decision to accept men who identify as women are now criticizing the reversal as a betrayal of the cause.
