EVANSVILLE— The faculty senate at the University of Southern Indiana has joined its counterparts at the University of Evansville in opposing a proposed amendment to the Indiana constitution banning same sex marriage, domestic partnerships, civil unions and benefits for same sex couples.
“I’m very pleased,” said USI assistant philosophy professor Garret Merriam, the faculty senate member who presented the motion to oppose the amendment in November. “I think the faculty senate did its job well. I’m glad to see that we took our responsibilities seriously and everyone had their chance to voice their opinions, and I feel we voted the right way.”
The faculty senate at UE, joined by UE President Thomas Kazee, went on record Monday opposing the proposed amendment.
The two local schools join other Indiana universities, including Indiana University, Ball State University, DePauw University, Wabash College, Hanover College and Butler University, in opposing the amendment. Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke has also announced his opposition as have the mayors of Indianapolis, West Lafayette, Fort Wayne and South Bend. Additionally, Eli Lilly & Co. and the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce have gone on the record as opposed to the measure.
Friday’s USI meeting, which had been rescheduled after inclement weather left the university closed on Dec. 6, was held in a packed Carter Hall.
USI’s faculty senate is composed of 16 representatives selected by the university’s various colleges to preside over matters affecting the faculty.
The motion presented for their consideration was: “We believe this bill is not consistent with the best interests of the faculty, staff and students of USI. To attract and retain the most talented personnel, as well as to promote our expressly stated values of diversity, inclusion and understanding, USI needs to foster an environment that welcomes everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status. These values are already reflected in our policy towards same-sex domestic partners. Both the policy and the underlying values are threatened by HJR-6.”
It goes on to encourage USI administration and the Indiana General Assembly to oppose HJR-6.
Eight senators voted in favor of opposing HJR-6, three voted against and two abstained.
“I hope that this vote will be remembered regardless of how the state assembly votes,” Merriam said. “This it will be remembered that the USI Faculty Senate stood on the right side of history.”
Senator Jason Fertig, an assistant professor of management in the business college, said he voted against opposing HJR-6 because he believes it’s not the senate’s place to take a stance on a political issue.
“I would oppose HJR-6, but I don’t think it’s the faculty senate’s job to do it,” Fertig said. “Individually, as people, we can voice our opposition the way it should be done. This is not the way it’s supposed to be done. I think it would be a lot more powerful if people saw that hundreds of people opposed HJR-6, not that the faculty senate did.”
Fertig proposed to send around a petition opposing HJR-6 in lieu of releasing a statement, but it received few votes from the senators.
Many of the faculty, staff and students, some of whom formed a silent stand-in outside of the University Center before the meeting, wore red tape over their mouths to make a statement: This is what it looks like to be silenced.
Crystal Steltenpohl, a 2011 USI graduate, said attended from Ferdinand, Ind., to show her opposition to HJR-6 at the meeting.
“I think it would have a negative effect on campuses as well as for businesses, so I just wanted to voice my support against it,” she said.
Senior USI student Alex Kessler said toward the end of the meeting he started biting his nails out of nervousness that the senate wouldn’t vote to oppose HJR-6.
“I got worried,” he said. “I think they made the right call. It’s not a political issue, it’s a human rights issue. (HJR-6) takes rights away from people.”
In a statement released after the vote, USI President Linda Bennett said, “If higher education is to educate for citizenship, the university campus must be a place of open dialogue and even debate on the important issues of the day. The USI faculty senate has engaged in a wide-ranging discussion about HJR-6 and its implications, as well as about the role of a public university in the political realm. This discussion has highlighted the diversity of views, and I congratulate the faculty senators on the civility of their process. In a democracy no single voice represents all opinions, nor should it.”