The student government at Texas A&M University narrowly passed a resolution on April 20 supporting a controversial bill that would mandate state funded colleges with centers devoted to “alternative” sexualities to provide equal funding for “traditional family values” centers.
The student government bill, in support of the House Bill authored by Republican Rep. Wayne Christian, was passed by a vote of 22-21 after A&M Speaker of the House Hilary Albrecht broke a tie. Rep. Christian was contacted and declined to comment.
“This bill is being perceived as a legislative way to propose an institutionalized homophobia,” said Lowell Kane, program coordinator of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center at Texas A&M.
“This vote is saying that the official stance is 50,000 Aggies agree with this even though half voted against this bill,” said Kane. “Quite honestly I have no idea what ‘traditional family values’ even means.” Kane cites that many gay publications feature same-sex couples striving for the right to marry, and by doing this they are striving for traditional family values.
The house bill would require equal funding for a “traditional family values” center if the “alternative” sexualities center received state funding. The GLBT Resource Center at Texas A&M currently receives some state funding along with the use of student service fees and an endowment. It is not quite certain how this bill would affect Texas A&M, said Kane. “This bill is comparing apples with oranges. Being GLBT is about an identity, this new center is about values.”
The University of Texas at Austin Student Government has not taken a stance on this issue, according to Student Government President Natalie Butler. “Personally I am opposed to the bill; in a time when we're dealing with budget cuts and reductions to core parts of the University, I don't think this is a responsible use of our resources,” said Butler.
The UT Gender and Sexuality Center opened on Jan. 28, 2005 to “build communities, offer resources and strive to promote a greater responsiveness to the needs of women and GLBTQ people,” according to the GSC website. The ‘Q’ in GLBTQ means “queer” or “questioning.”
“The main thing we provide is a safe space,” said GSC Education Coordinator Shane Whalley. “We have the education program with workshops on issues of gender and sexuality, and Peers for Pride, which is a program where students perform monologues to open conversation about GLBTQ issues.” Whalley also stated that the GSC has a library of GLBTQ literature for students to utilize as well as walk-in advising.
News of the controversial bill at first did not worry the GSC because all of the funding it receives is from student fees instead of state money, unlike A&M who receives state funds. “There wasn’t much fear about the bill affecting us, but when we learned about what happened at A&M we thought maybe we ought to be a little more aware,” said Whalley. “I think when Rep. Christian first put the bill in he wasn’t aware of the way we were funded. It’s good for us that he didn’t do his homework.”
Whalley argues that the GSC equally supports family values by supporting loving relationships, people having kids and the right to marriage, although this is certainly not what the supporters of the house bill have in mind when they think of “traditional family values.”
21-year-old UT student Spencer Manka also has a different definition of what it means to express traditional family values. “How many people were raised in a single family home? That’s not traditional. How many people grew up in a home with grandparents? That’s not traditional,” said Manka. “I want people to know that you can’t teach homosexuality.”
Back at A&M there has been some recent news regarding the future of the student government’s vote. According to an article in the Texas A&M student newspaper, The Battalion, on April 26 Student Body President Jacob Robinson vetoed the bill in support of Rep. Christian’s call for traditional family values centers.
According to Ryan Davenport, 20, newly elected A&M Student Government Vice President, the student assembly will vote on whether or not to override Robinson’s veto. Davenport, who serves in the outgoing administration as an education senator, said, “Personally I am going to abstain from voting on whether or not to veto this bill. I do not want my decision to have a negative effect on the next administration. There are legitimate cases on both sides of the argument, and some will be upset either way.”
It is still uncertain how this issue will affect Texas A&M and The University of Texas at Austin’s GLBTQ community. However, this may affect the raking of “GLBT friendliness” that the Campus Climate Index ranks each college based on a scale of one being the worst, to five being the best. Currently, A&M has a ranking of three, and UT a ranking of four. A&M also ranks consistently in the top 20 least GLBTQ friendly schools in the nation, according to the Princeton Review.
“Rankings of GLBT friendliness matter to prospective students and employees when they choose whether or not to come to a university,” said Lowell Kane. “I just hope that this bill does not push away even more GLBT students.”
