by Mihaela Anton
Have you ever felt unsafe, endangered, unprotected, lonely, and furious? How about pointed fingers, discriminated, and vulnerable?
Now imagine yourself being the adult you ever wanted to be and suddenly you are literally pushed from the surface of the earth just because your heart beats in a different rhythm than others. This is our society’s reality when it comes to still taboo subjects such as homosexuality, and more specifically domestic partnership rights. As frivol as it seems we might as well shrug shoulders and ask why is this important to us?
It should be as important as any matter because this time it’s about the people we most of the times forget to appreciate; it’s about our teachers, the eternal other side of the “battlefield”. If it would be a matter of protecting student rights, most of the times teachers would be the ones who would jump in to defend their rights. But who will to jump in when there’s nobody who wants to help them?
When talking about domestic partnership with my friend Stephanie Brooks I hit the first wall: “What do you mean about benefits for domestic partners? And why interview a teacher in the school? Do we have such a big community of homosexual teachers? I think you should research more.” To clear any confusion; a domestic partnership is a legal or personal relationship between two individuals of the same sex who live together and share a common domestic life but are neither joined by marriage nor a civil union. This is a very delicate subject, and not because it is hard to approach, but because it seems that people don’t understand the level of frustration the rejection of a normal right can raise.
Still think you don’t have enough benefits? Imagine the scenery of having no chance of holding the hand of the one you love on his/her death bed, because your relationship status cant be defined. This was the case of Taryn Green, who lost the love of life without having the change to be with her even in the last hours said: “When my former partner was in the hospital, and only 'family members' were allowed to visit her, I had to have her oldest daughter call the hospital and explain that I was to be considered 'family'. When my former partner died unexpectedly from a blood clot to the lung, we had been living together as a couple. Yet I couldn't make legal decisions for her, after her death.”
As a Catholic school in the tradition of St. John Baptist de La Salle, Manhattan College, places a high emphasis on honor, respect, and concern for others. It is also promoting versatility and diversity but on a closer look, diversity is just on the surface because getting into its core would mean that Lasallian’s strong catholic roots would agree with its worst nightmare, by accepting unions between same sex people even though they’re not on an official level. The teacher’s council recently had a meeting with the intention of promoting the domestic partnership rights and the decision of drawing a line and taking a decision. As always the meeting reached no conclusion, but at least there is the intention.
The eternal competitor of Manhattan College, Fordham University, following the Jesuit religious order, gave a point-black refusal to the coverage to faculty members' legally domiciled adults (LDAs), such as domestic partners, elderly parents and disabled adult children. By doing so not only they violate the New York State policy that recognizes same sex marriages, that are legally performed in other states but they also violate the Jesuit mission of caring for others and fighting for social justice. Abel Montez, professor at the same university who signed the petition professors affected by this rejection said “I have been an administrator at Fordham Law School since 2002. After being together for almost 10 years, Jeremy and I were married on July 14, 2008 in California, at a Parkside ceremony. Fordham’s policy not to grant the same health benefits to our families that are given to other married employees is simply unjust. I am so proud of Fordham's educational mission and efforts to enhance its national reputation, but sad that it does not recognize the importance of treating all its employees with the same respect and dignity.”
On the other hand a public university such as NYU, which also has the same prestige as the ones mentioned above offers these benefits to professors no matter their sexual orientation. Although it is just for medical benefits and parenting leave it still gives teachers a reason to chose it in favor of fancier and private universities. No wonder most of the English, and Business department teachers also teach at NYU, keeping Manhattan College as a part time option. Asked about if she has any domestic partnership rights as a member of a heterosexual family within Manhattan College Gwendolin Todeschi, economics professor, declared “Unfortunately, as far as I know there are no benefits offered by this college, heterosexual or nonetheless to homosexual couples. I know from personal and then friends experience that Fordham is pretty strict in offering them still, and one of my friends got it after she legally married her actual husband. This is the thing with Catholic Colleges, but they should consider offering them in the case of promoting diversity and hiring gay teachers.”
Unfortunately there was no sign of tolerance from Manhattan College towards this matter, at least not yet. There probably won’t be one in the near future either. Why? We are a small congregation with little voices that are, after all, “little”. Who is going to hear them?
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