Baptist college kicks out transgender student after surgery

GALLATIN, Tenn. (AP) — A 21-year-old transgender man says his private Tennessee college kicked him out after he got breast reduction surgery.

Yanna Awtrey tells the Tennessean that his Baptist missionary parents wanted him to attend Welch College, previously known as the Free Will Baptist Bible College.

He says he was outed to school officials, who ordered him to conceal his gender identity and attend Christian therapy.

He started transitioning this spring, and says he thought everything would be OK if he kept the surgery secret.

But student services Vice President Jon Forlines emailed Awtrey the day of the surgery saying Awtrey couldn't return to student housing. The school paid for a week in a hotel, then brought Awtrey before a disciplinary committee that cited a "sexual perversion" rule for the suspension.

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Information from: The Tennessean, https://www.tennessean.com