CV NEWS FEED // A Catholic women’s college recently retracted its updated policy allowing biological males to attend the school, but students at Saint Mary’s College who protested the “inclusive” policy change said in an interview that the battle isn’t over yet.
Two students who led the protest against the policy, Macy Gunnell and Claire Bettag, told CatholicVote that the college’s decision to admit biological males was not surprising.
“I was shocked, but at the same time, not entirely surprised. It is very in character for the current Saint Mary’s administration to implement a woke policy such as this,” said Gunnell, a sophomore.
“Most importantly, I was worried,” she continued:
Worried for the religious character of the school, worried for the deep connection with thousands of students and alumnae, and worried about the precedent this would set for all women everywhere. Biological men have been taking over and dominating women’s spaces, and I could not sit back and watch this ideology take its toll on Saint Mary’s.
Bettag, a junior, said that she felt “betrayed” by the updated policy.
“I was disgusted with the choices of administration,” she said. “The school cannot call itself Catholic or all-women’s if they were to go through with the decision. I felt completely betrayed considering I decided to spend my tuition at this school because it was Catholic and all women’s.”
Gunnell said that the policy came from President Katie Conboy, who “has always had very radical left ideas.” Bettag agreed, adding that most of the members of the board of trustees also “uphold a woke agenda.”
According to both Gunnell and Bettag, the majority of students expressed concerns about sharing housing and bathrooms with biological men, but were targeted and “bullied beyond belief.”
“Any student who has shown any discontent or concern with the policy has been threatened, bullied, and alienated by both faculty and students,” Gunnell said, adding that on one occasion the college sent security to break up a group of women meeting to discuss their concerns.
Gunnell and Bettag eventually met with President Katie Conboy to express their worries about the consequences of admitting biological men, such as sexual assault, injuries in women’s sports, and opportunities taken away from biological women. According to Bettag, Conboy had “never heard of this before” and asked for proof of instances where admitting biological men to women’s activities had such repercussions.
Both Gunnell and Bettag also said that though the policy was eventually revoked thanks to the efforts of students, alumnae, donors, and local bishop Kevin Rhoades, they do not believe that Conboy has backed down from implementing leftist policies in the future.
“I believe this is just the beginning. The president has plans to promote an environment with more dialogue to educate each other. This is code for indoctrination,” Bettag said.
Gunnell added that Saint Mary’s administration has made it clear that they hope to reinstate the inclusive policy one day. In the meantime, she said that Conboy “will continue to try and coerce students and alumnae into further implementation of more woke policies in the name of ‘inclusivity’ and ‘love.’”
“While we are celebrating this victory, we are all well aware of President Conboy’s intentions, so we are only strengthening our protest efforts now. We will not let these anti-Catholic and anti-women policies take hold of our Catholic women’s college,” Gunnell said.
