The fight to add gender identity to MSU's anti-discrimination policy faced a delay at Academic Council's executive committee Tuesday.
The executive committee decided to send a subcommittee report prepared to standing Academic Governance committees for further review. The report grew to more than 100 pages since MSU's undergraduate government original proposed the plan.
"There's a lot more meat on these bones for standing committees to wrestle with and react to," said Robert Banks, the assistant provost for academic human resources.
A year ago, an ASMSU proposal suggested the inclusion of a gender identity clause to stand independently in the policy. But after 80 hours of subcommittee discussion since May to create a report on the issue, it was decided the addition of a footnote to the anti-discrimination policy would be more beneficial.
The executive committee's decision sends the report to four standing committees for evaluation - the University Committee on Student Affairs, the University Committee on Faculty Affairs, the University Committee on Academic Policy and the University Graduate Council.
After being reviewed, the report would come back to the executive committee before it could move to be presented before the full Academic Council, a policy-making group of students, faculty and administrators that reports to the Board of Trustees.
The footnote would add an explanation of gender identity to the policy's gender clause and recognize transgender individuals as a group in need of protection from harassment and discrimination.
Karen Chou, chairperson of the committee created to deal with the gender identity issue, presented the report to the executive committee. It outlines definitions involved in the broad term "gender identity" and proposes the policy change.
The committee came to the conclusion that "yes, we should have something to protect these persons," she said. "But to put this in language is very difficult."
Josh Boehme, Academic Assembly representative for the Alliance of Lesbian-Bi-Gay-Transgendered and Straight Ally Students, said he was not surprised at the executive committee's decision to send the report back for further deliberation.
"We fully expected there to be a delay," he said. "The Academic Governance is not the quickest system."
He added that the time hurdle is inconsequential since the council is supportive.
"The committee members seemed really supportive," the computer science senior said. "They were asking clarification questions and not 'What do you think you're doing?' questions."
If the report and proposal are passed by Academic Council and approved by university officials, which Boehme said he believes will occur smoothly sometime next semester, it will move on to what he calls the "biggest hurdle" - consideration by the Republican dominated Board of Trustees.
But alliance President Natalie Furrow is confident the educational efforts of the organization will persuade the trustees to understand their mission.
"I do believe that the majority of the students at MSU support protection for everyone," she said. "It's our job to get the student voices heard by the Board of Trustees."
