It is the policy of Rice University to attract qualified individuals of diverse backgrounds to its faculty, staff, and student body. Accordingly, Rice University does not discriminate against any individual on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation , national or ethnic origin, age, disability, or veteran status in its admissions, its educational programs, or employment of faculty or staff. Salary and benefits make up compensation. When one group is excluded from an important benefits like health insurance, they aren't being compensated equally for their work. That is discrimination.
Studies show that the costs are negligible.
Faculty Council passed a unanimous resolution in May 1997 calling for SSDP benefits beginning no later than the 1998-9 fiscal year. The staff advisory council sent a letter to President Gillis in September 1999 calling for SSDP benefits. Undergraduates and graduate students can now purchase health insurance for their domestic partners. Currently, faculty and staff cannot. Signing the petition is no longer needed.