Gays in fraternites (pt. 2)

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by bowsandtoes

In the past week or so the campus newspaper has been trying to make a big issue of gay faculty wanting health benefits for their partners. Regardless of whether the majority of students want this (which is up for debate), its completely outside the jurisdiction of the school. The university if funded by the Texas State legislature who have final say over basically everything. If the school tries to make an issue of this and fight the legislature its just going to hurt the school (not that the gay community cares about that).

If you read the newspaper regularly, you'd realize it's not gay faculty who've been pushing for it as much as heterosexual grad students (specifically one, who decided to write a proposal on this) who are politically aware. The was the one faculty member who in Middle Eastern Studies (I think) who did the hunger strike last semester to raise awareness of the issue and the campaign has been proposed & carried by grad students ever since. The article in the Texan on Friday focused on faculty perspectives but the initial move to have a vote on this in the senate of college councils was led by grad students.

I'm not really sure how it is going to hurt the school. Our current policy is already hurting us in terms of faculty recruitment and retention. That said, I'm also not sure how successful the campaign can be given the strictures put on by the legislature.

[DSTRen13]

My pledge ed (OPhiA) was a lesbian. No one cared. But that was the nature of our particular chapter.

If you're going to join an organization where your [insert issue - gender, race, disability, religion, whatever the heck your deal is - here] is going to raise eyebrows, plus some tempers, then you just need to accept that upfront and go in aware and prepared to handle it. If you CANNOT HANDLE IT, then either choose another organization or stay away entirely. None of us needs your whiny drama.