Some women’s colleges, including Barnard, where I am a student, Smith and Wellesley, have changed their admission standards and will now consider applications from trans women—people who were born men but identify as female. So far, these colleges have drawn the line at accepting trans men—people born female but identifying as male.

Other women’s colleges, including Mount Holyoke in Massachusetts, will accept applications from anyone on the gender spectrum—except those who were born male and still identify as male. In other words: men.

Mount Holyoke President Lynn Pasquerella, when I asked her how the school is navigating these gender cross-currents, told me a story. A young Muslim woman attending Mount Holyoke was assigned a dormitory roommate who was born female but at some point as they lived together began identifying as male. The Muslim student objected on religious grounds, telling the administration that because she accepted her roommate’s chosen male identity, she could no longer live in their room comfortably.