After much debate last week, the Student Government Association passed a resolution expressing SGA’s opposition to Amendment One during its regular Senate meeting.
The resolution states that Amendment One, which will appear on the North Carolina Primary Election ballot May 8, contradicts Elon University’s discrimination policy by defining marriage as exclusively between one man and one woman and prohibiting legal recognition of all unmarried couples.
The April 26 SGA meeting was unusually crowded with Elon students, faculty and community members. Those who wished to express opinions on the resolution were invited to do so during open discussion.
Freshman Austin Faur was the first to address SGA.
“Before you all vote on this (resolution), I ask you to consider two questions,” he said. “The first, what is marriage? And the second, what does it mean to discriminate?”
Faur argued the government gives benefits to married, heterosexual couples because they are able to have children, which guarantees a future generation.
“Why should the government grant (homosexual couples) the benefits of marital status and tax breaks when they do not have the capacity to produce the very things for which these benefits are given — children?" he said.
Amendment One is not discriminatory against homosexual couples because they do not have the capacity to marry, he said.
“Amendment One is not discriminatory against homosexuals," he said. “Amendment One is simply defining marriage. Before you cast your vote, please consider (my initial questions).”
Several rose to counter his argument. Randy Orwig, senior pastor of the Elon Community Church, said the resolution must be passed because the amendment threatens the rights of all people in the state.
“The idea that we come here only for purposes of procreation does not speak to what we are really wanting to get to,” he said. “There are unintended consequences of this amendment. As a government, we need to recognize what it means to have equality. This amendment will write discrimination into the (state’s) very constitution.”
Lynn Huber, associate professor of religious studies, challenged Faur’s definition of marriage.
“Marriage is not all about children,” she said. “I am a lesbian, and I have the capacity to marry. Historically, marriage has not been defined in the same way. It has not always been a one man, one woman institution. I encourage you to think and remember that marriage does change over time.”
Open discussion ended after junior Lauren Clapp, advocacy and education chair of Spectrum and author of the resolution, localized the debate.
“I hope you think of this in the context of Elon,” she said. “We have an institutional commitment to diversity. What kind of message would it send if we didn’t pass a resolution saying Amendment One is discriminatory?”
After brief remarks from the Senate and the Executive Board, senators explained their positions on the resolution during open forum. Many argued to pass it.
“We just passed a resolution that defines diversity, and we have the responsibility to protect it,” said Greg Zitelli, sophomore class senator.
But not all were in agreement.
“We’re really here to support our constituents,” said Ryan Budden, sophomore senator. “Making a broad statement that Elon does support this (resolution) is difficult because I have talked to students who are against (the SGA resolution).”
The forum was closed, and the voting procedure began. The resolution was passed in a 25-1-12 vote.
Clapp breathed a sigh of relief.
“I was really nervous coming into the meeting,” she said. “I wasn’t sure who our allies were, but I was surprised and happy about how much support we got from some of the Senate. I realized we have allies on campus we might not know about.”
Although disappointed, Faur said he was thankful for the opportunity to express his opinion.
“I think I got my point across,” he said. “It wasn’t a landslide (vote), and I think that’s promising. There were a lot of insightful comments on the floor tonight, even (from) those I disagreed with.”
The debate between members of the community and the Senate helped SGA reach a thoughtful conclusion on the resolution, said Darien Flowers, executive president.
“We would be doing a disservice to our constituents if we only discussed one side of the issue,” he said. “If you or your organization has an issue that pertains to you, you can write legislation and bring it to your elected representatives and know that they are going to discuss and give it the highest level of consideration.”
Flowers said he hopes the Elon student body and community will attend future SGA meetings.
“We’re really excited that so many people from the community came out to express their opinions,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll have an even higher turnout throughout the rest of the legislative year. We hope that people will see that they can come and participate in this process"