Sexual orientation added to hiring policy
Yasmine Alotaibi - Staff WriterMonday, October 01, 2007 issue
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The UT campus has added sexual orientation to the nondiscrimination policy for employment, but a similar statement does not yet exist for students.
In July 2007, Provost Robert Holub released a statement on his Web site condemning the omission. He said sexual orientation’s lack of inclusion in the policy harms the university.
One month after Holub’s statement sexual orientation was added to the policy.
“We fool ourselves if we believe that the absence of a direct statement regarding discrimination against gays and lesbians does not harm our institution,” Holub said. “We are probably hurt not only by gay and lesbian candidates preferring to go elsewhere, but by heterosexuals who are as horrified as I am that we will not pledge to treat gay and lesbian applicants without prejudice.”
George Hoemann, chairman of the UT Commission for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered People, said the omission placed UT behind other institutions.
“We compiled data and discovered UT was virtually alone in not including sexual orientation,” he said. “It was very clear from this research that UT was very much out of step with higher institutions of the 21st century.”
According to the commission’s Web site, the faculty senate, Student Government Association and graduate student senate passed resolutions supporting the inclusion of sexual orientation. The resolutions date back to 1993. Hoemann said he was not surprised the inclusion took several years.
To Hoemann, the reason for the delay was clear. “Frankly, bigotry,” he said. “It’s no surprise that being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered is very controversial.”
Hoemann compared the movement to those of other groups that have faced discrimination.
“This is an issue which raises a great amount of debate and discussion,” he said. “Like any other movement, it takes time.”