As students are debating the value of gender-neutral housing on campus, MSU faculty and staff are dealing with some of the same concerns.
In an effort to gain greater understanding of the issues being dealt with by LBGT faculty and staff, the Gay Lesbian Faculty Staff Association, or GLFSA, held a meeting in Erickson Hall on Tuesday.
In the university’s LBGT Climate Survey and Report from Fall 2010, LGBT university administrators said they had one of the least hospitable environments on campus.
Grant Littke, GLFSA president and Director of Field Experience for James Madison College said the results of the climate survey were somewhat surprising.
“We had a very small sample size, so we’re trying to talk to those people to see if there are issues that need to be addressed,” Littke said.
Graduate student Bree Becker was the only person to attend the meeting that wasn’t an officer for the GLFSA, and Littke said the low turnout might be an indication that the climate for LBGT administrators is not a major issue right now.
One issue presented at the meeting was the inability of staff who are required to live in the residence halls for their jobs, such as residence hall mentors, to be able to live with a same-sex partner.
LBGT Resource Center’s interim director Deanna Hurlbert said it is a big issue that hasn’t seen any progress in some time.
“I think it needs to be addressed because staff have left the university, who are highly qualified, because they haven’t been able to live with married partners,” Hurlbert said. “I know for a fact staff have not come to this institution because of their inability to live with their partners.”
University spokesperson Kent Cassella could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.
Music education senior Ben Walukonis said he was unaware of the current rule and would support a change.
“It’s certainly not fair,” he said. “I would be an advocate of those who want this changed.”
Becker said she wanted to attend the meeting to lend support for staff in Student Affairs and Services, which she said are often underrepresented.
The inability for staff to live with same-sex partners clashes with the message of acceptance students and staff are often presented with, Becker said.
“Even though (students) are paid good lip service, what is done on the ground doesn’t bare that out,” she said.
“I think it sends a general message about the values of employees and whose relationships are valid.”
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