Northwestern University Grants Benefits to Same-Sex Domestic Partners

   The Gay and Lesbian University Union of Northwestern University
   Date: November 14, 1995
   Press Release for distribution to local media.
   
   Evanston, IL-- At its November 13 meeting, the Northwestern
   University Board of Trustees approved an administrative proposal by
   President Henry Bienen to extend benefits to the same-sex domestic
   partners of faculty, staff, and students. The decision culminates over
   five years of advocacy by various university organizations, including
   the Gay and Lesbian University Union (GLUU) and the Bisexual, Gay and
   Lesbian Alliance (BGALA).
   
   "Northwestern now joins its academic peers in recognizing the
   contributions of its gay and lesbian employees," says Andrew Bernoff,
   Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics. Most major research
   universities in the US, such as Harvard, Stanford, MIT and University
   of Chicago, grant same-sex domestic partnership benefits.
   
   Last year, at the suggestion of then president Arnold Weber, the Board
   rejected a similar proposal, claiming it would wait to see what
   happened with national health care reform. Gay and lesbian advocates
   cited the leadership of new University president Henry Bienen as key
   to the shift in policy. "Bienen indicated to us early on that he
   thought granting same-sex domestic partner benefits was the right
   thing to do," says Samantha Westcott, a research projects coordinator
   at Northwestern and co-president of GLUU, "so we chose to work behind
   the scenes to help him get that accomplished."
   
   Northwestern's General Faculty Committee (GFC), Staff Advisory Council
   (NUSAC) and Associated Student Government (ASG) had all recommended
   that the University grant domestic partnership benefits. The student
   newspaper The Daily Northwestern frequently editorialized in support
   of benefits for gay and lesbian domestic partners.
   
   "The Board's rejection of domestic partnership benefits last year was
   seen by many as an act of injustice and seemed to galvanize support
   behind the issue," said David Johnson, a graduate student in History
   and GLUU co-president. "Every major constituency of the University
   came out in favor of granting benefits. This decision marks a victory
   not only for the gay and lesbian organizations on campus, but for the
   faculty, staff and student groups whose persistent advocacy has kept
   this issue in the forefront of university politics."
   
   Recent efforts to organize Northwestern gay and lesbian alumni may
   also have had an impact. The University's latest homecoming weekend
   featured the first ever Gay and Lesbian Alumni reception. Advertised
   by official Alumni Relations materials and the local gay and lesbian
   press, the event drew over 200 people.
   
   How bold a change this new policy represents is uncertain, commented
   one GLUU member, Professor Michael Sherry. "The University clearly
   waited until a safe moment-- after its peer institutions had
   instituted such policies -- and clearly wanted the new policy handled
   quietly, as if it feared embarrassment or opposition. The change and
   Bienen's support of it are gratifying, even though the process that
   lead to it was cautious."
   
   Northwestern's unprecedented winning streak in Big Ten football may
   have also played a role. "With a nationally ranked football team,"
   Johnson comments, "perhaps NU is now secure enough in its 'machismo'
   to acknowledge that some of its finest scholars, staff members, and
   students are gay or lesbian, that they have significant, committed
   relationships and that they should be compensated in the same way as
   are their heterosexual peers."
   
   
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   Go back to the DP Table of Context.
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   bgala@nwu.edu, 10 March 1996