Review for W&M Policies on Sexual Orientation

By Amber Lester Tuesday, March 09, 2010

The College of William and Mary has not made any decisions regarding Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s request for state colleges and universities to rescind policies banning discrimination based on sexual orientation.

“We will have to review everything closely before determining how to proceed,” said Brian Whitson, William and Mary spokesman, in an e-mail.
William and Mary’s current policy regarding discrimination (read it here) prohibits discriminatory treatment with regard to sexual orientation, along with race, sex/gender, religion, national origin, political belief, disability, Vietnam veteran status, age and all other categories protected by the Commonwealth and by federal law.

The university defines discriminatory treatment as discriminatory decision-making (such as a teacher reserving better seats for female students), harassment and sexual harassment.  The Faculty Assembly recently asked that the policy add “gender identity and expression” to that list; President Taylor Reveley is considering that request.

In a letter, Cuccinelli told higher education institutions they didn’t have the legislative authority to prohibit discrimination against gays or lesbians. “It is my advice that the law and public policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia prohibit a college or university from including ‘sexual orientation,’ ‘gender identity,’ ‘gender expression,’ or like classification, as a protected class within its nondiscrimination policy, absent a specific authorization from the General Assembly,” he wrote.

He went on to say that colleges and universities including “sexual orientation” in their policies “acted without proper authority.” He advised college boards take appropriate actions to bring their policies in conformance with the state law.

The two previous governors, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both issued executive orders specifically barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Gov. Bob McDonnell did not issue an order when he took office in January. Last week, the House of Delegates defeated legislation to protect state employees from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

In a recent editorial in The Flat Hat, William and Mary students wrote that McDonnell’s office maintained it supports equal opportunity in the workplace while repealing protections against discrimination. “It is not enough to mouth ideals of equality while upholding the standards that actively subvert it,” the board wrote.