The Open Door Club hosted a
bake sale to raise awareness of a
demand by some Bucks faculty
that their same-sex partners
receive benefits.
The sale table offered a variety
of baked goods such as cookies,
brownies, cupcakes, carrot cake,
and Halloween grab bags. Not
only were the goodies appealing
to students, but prices were reasonable
as well, ranging from 50
cents to $1.
The bake sale not only attracted
hungry students, but helped gather
support for Bucks faculty who
are seeking to have their samesex
partners receive the kinds of
benefits that spouses normally
receive. Currently, Bucks does
not extend benefits to the partners
of its homosexual employees.
In hopes of establishing a new
policy, the club will present a
petition to the school signed by
Bucks students. President of the
Open Door Club, Sarah
Campbell, said in regards to the
sale, “We’re raising awareness
for the petition, and raising funds
for the club’s cause.”
At the bake sale table, the petition
was sitting out for students to
sign.
Rik Boorademe, a history professor
at Bucks and member of
the Open Door Club, explained
how important it was for the college
to reconsider its policy.
“Many other colleges, except Catholic institutions, extend
these benefits to their employees
with same sex partnerships, and
Bucks is at the tail end of these
new policies. There is no real
reason why we should be there,”
he said.
Bucks already maintains a
nondiscriminatory hiring and enrollment
policy. The Open Door
Club believes that this acceptance
should be demonstrated
throughout all of the college’s
policies.
One argument against the approval
of the change is that costs
for college will rise. Tim
Schillaci, student and member of
the Open Door Club said, “Research
has been done on these
costs, and the rise would be
hardly 1 percent.”
Even with
the concern
for costs,
memb e r s
of the
Open Door
Club say
this is a
moral issue
rather than
a financial
one. The
col l ege ‘s
f a c u l t y
union also
the cause.
If the petition
is
recognized
and accepted
by
the administration,
an Open Door Club representative
will attend the
college’s Board of Trustees meeting
where they will discuss and
decide on the issue. There, the
club representative will present
students’ opinions on the matter.