From: cjones@physci.ucla.edu (Chad Jones)
Subject: Re: [Daily Gopher] U of Minn may get gay studies program
X-UserAgent: Nuntius v1.1
Organization: University of California Los Angeles
Date: 12 Jan 93 08:35:39 PST

In article <C0r0DA.4IA@cs.uiuc.edu> Carl M. Kadie, kadie@cs.uiuc.edu
writes:
>The University will become the only Big Ten school with a gay and
>lesbian studies program or department if a recommendation expected
>Wednesday is adopted.

For those without Gopher access, I've downloaded the article:

Headline: GAY12.STO
Publish Date: 01/12/1993

By Mary Mussell

Staff Reporter

The University will become the only Big Ten school with a gay and 
lesbian studies program or department if a recommendation expected 
Wednesday is adopted.

The recommendation, one of at least five in a select committee report 
to be released this week, is intended to improve the campus climate 
for the gay, lesbian and bisexual community.

The University Senate Social Concerns Committee appointed the group 
more than a year ago at the request of President Nils Hasselmo.

The formation of a gay and lesbian studies program would be a first, 
scholars say.

No formal department exists at any four-year college. ``Nowhere is 
there a major established, and no advanced degrees'' exist, said 
Martin Duberman, director of the Center For Lesbian and Gay Studies 
at The City University of New York.

Said University professor Gary Thomas: ``A whole history of human 
behavior and human reality has been neglected.''

Other expected recommendations include:

* Establishing a University-administered center or office for gay, 
lesbian and bisexual students, faculty and staff.

* Giving employee benefits and privileges now limited to spouses of 
married employees to gay and lesbian couples who register their 
status as domestic partners.

* Starting awareness training for University departments and programs 
(such as the campus police) that are responsible for safety, security 
and the application of non-discrimination policies.

* Directing deans and department chairs to review all University 
policies, procedures and publications to ensure that inclusive 
language and photographs are used to reflect diversity in sexual 
orientation.

Campus gay community leaders say the recommendations are crucial in 
making the University a sensitive environment.

``This is about basic human rights,'' said Lisa Jones, vice 
chairwoman of the Senate select committee, ``not special treatment.''

Hasselmo would not say whether he would approve the recommendations 
until he saw their final form. ``I cannot prejudge,'' he said.

But the chairwoman of the select committee said Hasselmo has been 
supportive.

``Our committee was one of the first to be appointed in the Big Ten 
to look into the climate (of the gay, lesbian, and bisexual 
community),'' said chairwoman Marjorie Cowmeadow, associate dean of 
General College.

``I think the president will take action,'' she said.

Thomas, an assistant professor of comparative literature, agreed 
there's been a growing interest in gay and lesbian studies. ``It's a 
hot topic,'' he said.

A surging civil rights movement by gay, lesbian and bisexual groups 
has brought issues of lifestyle to national prominence, Thomas said.

As a result, philosophical and social questions have been raised on 
campuses about how Western culture views sex roles and sexuality, the 
body, and what some label deviant sexual behavior, he said.

Officials at least three other Big Ten schools say they would like to 
get a similar program started. ``It's been an uphill struggle,'' said 
James Toy, coordinator for the University of Michigan's Gay/Bi Males 
Program. ``It's like the struggle faced by women's studies 20 years 
ago.''

Rather than create a separate department of gay and lesbian studies, 
some within the University gay community say it would be better to 
establish an interdisciplinary program within already existing 
departments, said Barney Dews, graduate assistant to the select 
committee.

``History has shown in Women Studies and African-American Studies 
(that) when a department is established, then other departments don't 
have to integrate those issues,'' Dews said.

``Those issues become ghettoized,'' he added.

But members of the gay community seem united about the need to 
establish an office or center to address concerns of faculty, 
students and staff who are gay, lesbian and bisexual, said Cowmeadow.

Graduate student Mike Smith said a professionally staffed center 
could address the 50 or so calls each month from gay students seeking 
counseling.  The calls now come to the Association of Gay/Lesbian/Bi 
Student Organizations and Their Friends. The association office, 
staffed by students, cannot give adequate referrals, said Smith, the 
association's treasurer.

``These are kids calling for help -- some with deep identity 
questions,'' he said.

The committee's recommendation to give gay and lesbian registered 
domestic partners the same employee privileges and benefits as 
married heterosexual couples would replace a badly outdated social 
system, said Cowmeadow.

Other campuses offering the employee benefits -- including health 
insurance -- include the University of Chicago, Stanford University 
and the University of Iowa, said Cowmeadow.

Cowmeadow said implementing employee benefits for domestic partners 
would not cost the University significantly. Cowmeadow bases her 
conclusions on the experiences of companies like Ben and Jerry's Ice 
Cream and Lotus, she said.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chad Jones                 | Do I need someone here to scold me or do I
Network Manager            | need someone who'll grab and pull me out of
UCLA Physiological Science | this four poster dull torpor pulling
cjones@physci.ucla.        | downward?                 -- 10,000 Maniacs
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