Support for Uri Horesh
The University of Texas is among the most backward of our peer institutions of higher learning in not offering its gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender faculty and staff domestic partner benefits. My longtime domestic partner has no health insurance through her work and cannot afford routine medical and dental care - and if she faced a medical emergency we would be bankrupted. In failing to offer benefits to partners of GLBT employees, the University dehumanizes us and sends the message that we are not as valuable as our heterosexual colleagues. It flies in the face of the principles of justice and equality. This policy results in outright discrimination in real compensation between heterosexual and GLBT employees. It means that a significant number of UT's faculty and staff face financial hardship when medical services are needed. It costs the University because excellent potential staff and faculty members turn down jobs or leave the University for employment at more forward-thinking, fair institutions. My colleagues at our peer universities are appalled when I tell them that the University of Texas does not offer GLBT employees the same benefits that heterosexual employees receive. This discrimination sullies UT's reputation. For these reasons, I personally support Uri Horesh in his courageous stand regarding this issue. If UT is truly to be the flagship of our state's education system, it should be a flagship of justice and inclusion too.
Dana L. Cloud Associate Professor Communication Studies International Socialist Organization
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