Meeting Minutes
Date: Nov 18, 2004 The question of domestic partner benefits was discussed at length. What follows is a summary of the salient points of our discussion. It should be noted that the members of the Student Affairs UPC supports in principle domestic partner (or in one case legally domiciled adult) benefits and would welcome a policy for further review. The committee felt that the university should have one consistent non-discrimination policy that included "sexual orientation" within the policy. This policy should drive all other decisions including questions regarding benefits for domestic partners. There needs to be a clear understanding of the definition of "domestic partner." The committee members suggest that there may be precedent legally and certainly within other universities that provide this benefit. The issue of domestic partner benefits is one of equity and social justice. We should be clear that this benefit is a justice issue consistent with Catholic Church social teaching. This is an issue of being able to attract and retain quality students, faculty and staff. We may lose a competitive edge by not offering this benefit. This may result in our inability to attract quality faculty and staff thereby impacting the quality of our students' educational opportunities. To a lesser degree this may impact the type and quality of student applying to Loyola (admission, enrollment and retention issues). The issue of Catholic identity and issues related to the Church hierarchy should be seriously considered. In addition, the reaction of conservative Catholics on the reputation and well being of the university should also be considered.