School's Out

Wells College closes:

As mentioned above, Wells was an all-women's school. This was a point of pride among alumni and staff alike, providing a safe, comfortable environment for all of the young ladies there. That fact also made the school a popular place to visit. My wife shared tales with me about a bus route that was set up to bring young male students from a nearby co-ed college to Wells every weekend. I will spare you the somewhat crude nickname that the route earned, but let's just say there were more and a few collegiate-age men who were eager for a chance to "try their luck." However, that single-sex environment also meant that the school's potential pool of applicants was cut in half. Also, an education at Wells was not cheap. They wound up competing against state schools in the region. Over the decades, they struggled. That appeared to change in 2004 when the school announced that it would begin accepting students of both genders. They actually included something about "gender not specified," but that was before the word transgender became all the rage like it is today. That was a bridge too far for many. My wife stopped donating money to Wells on the day the announcement came out and many of her fellow alumni did likewise. She didn't see it as a "woke" move during that period. The school was just trying to drive up admissions and stabilize its financial situation. Apparently, the plan didn't succeed. They managed to remain open for twenty more years, but now it's over.

Today they probably wouldn't have been allowed to be all-female...