EAST LANSING – At an Oct. 7 press conference on the campus of Michigan State University, the Association of Michigan Universities announced that it had passed a resolution opposing Proposal 2, the anti-marriage amendment that will appear on the ballot in Michigan Nov. 2.
"Proposal 2 is an attack on the autonomy of Michigan's public universities," said Torrence O'Haire, Commissioner of Multicultural Issues for AMU. "Proposal 2 could take away benefits that many of our universities have offered for years."
Founded in November 2000, the AMU is an alliance of student governance bodies from each of Michigan's 15 public universities.
During their September conference, held on the MSU campus, AMU's commissioners decided Proposal 2 was an issue where outside forces threatened the autonomy of public universities. They acknowledged that if Proposal 2 passed, domestic partner benefits could be eliminated for employees of Michigan's public universities, which they view as a clear threat to the autonomy of these institutions. They also believe that this discriminates against the universities' students, faculty, and staff.
Internet resources:
Association of Michigan Universities- www.amuweb.org
Coalition for a Fair Michigan- www.fairmichigan.org
