GAY RIGHTS: FACULTY SENATE WILL VIEW NON-DISCRIMINATION RULES

Faculty members at Southeast Missouri State University may endorse a change in the university's non-discrimination policy, identical to one proposed by students earlier this week.

The proposed change would add the words "sexual orientation" to the policy, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or handicap.

The proposal was brought before the Faculty Senate in the form of a bill, and will be voted upon by the group next week, said senate Chairman Allen Gathman.

Gathman said the bill will likely be approved.

"I believe this is an important issue for the faculty as well as the students, and it certainly makes a stronger statement if we are behind it," Gathman said.

Adding sexual orientation to non-discrimination policy will be a "safeguard" for homosexual students against prejudice, the president of the university's Gay and Lesbian Student Association, Joe Dunlap, said Tuesday.

Dunlap and leaders of other student groups met with University President Kala Stroup on Monday to ask her help in amending the policy, which was written in the early 1980s.

Gathman said faculty members and students plan to bring the issue before the university's Administrative Council in two weeks.

Gathman said once the issue was brought to light by students, many faculty members were eager to lend their support.

"Once the students got behind it, we realized what an important issue it is," he said.

Other student groups whose leaders support the change are the Student Activities Council, Student Government, Association of Black Collegians, Council for International Students, several Greek governing boards and the campus newspaper, which ran an editorial Wednesday, saying the university has a "moral obligation" to amend the policy.