University of Georgia Board of Regents silent on proposal to protect gay students

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Regents quiet on change to policy By DANÉE ATTEBURY Published, October 31, 2005, 06:00:01 AM EDT The Red & Black, The University of Georgia The proposal to add sexual orientation to the University’s anti-discrimination policy is at a standstill, with both the University and the regents balking at approving the proposal. The Board of Regents has refused to give the University administration legal advice on whether to add “sexual orientation” to the policy, and the University is refusing to move forward until it has a response from the regents. “No action has been taken. No action is currently planned,” regents spokeswoman Arlethia Perry-Johnson said Friday. Perry-Johnson did not comment on why the regents will not give University administrators the advice it asked for a year and a half ago. University Provost Arnett Mace said Sunday he had not received any letters from the regents refusing to take action on the proposal. University spokesman Tom Jackson said the University would not move forward without a response from the regents. Jackson said the University needs guidance from state leadership on such a “politically sensitive” topic, even though other Georgia universities have long had “sexual orientation” in their anti-discrimination policies. But while the University sought advice on the proposal, universities such as Georgia State, Georgia Tech and Georgia Southern already have “sexual orientation” in their policies. “The political profile of the University is much higher than other schools in the state,” he said. Patrick Miller, the director of information for Lambda Alliance, said he thinks the regents are waiting for a more gay-friendly political environment before making a recommendation on the proposal. He said he thinks Adams and the regents have not taken action on the proposal because neither wants the “blame” for adding “sexual orientation” to the policy. Many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students suspect the University administration does not really accept them, he added. The University does have a policy that applies to sexual orientation, but it is separate from the main anti-discrimination policy. In April of 2004, the University Council voted to add sexual orientation to the main policy. Adams asked the regents and state attorney general for advice before passing or vetoing the proposal. The administration and the regents corresponded about the proposal, but no progress was made, according letters obtained by The Red & Black through an Open Records Request. Original Source: click here