Posted: January 7, 2013 at 7:41 pm

Students Campaign to Fix Montana University System’s Non-Discrimination Policy

703 EqualityA group of students is leading the charge to fix the Montana University System’s non-discrimination policy, which is out of date and does not include sexual orientation and gender identity.

These students are absolutely right when they point out that a safe living, working, and learning environment should not be left to circumstance or personal opinion. It should be guaranteed to all within our university system.

The campaign is called 703 Equality because the board of regents adopted the current policy, known as ”Non-Discrimination Policy 703″ back in 1976–and it hasn’t been substantively updated since.

The main focus now is on using social media to get public feedback on this policy change to the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education and the Montana Board of Regents.  Sign the letter here.

Here are some other ways you can get involved:

Twitter: twitter.com/703equality,

Blogosphere: 703equality.blogspot.com

Students have already gathered hundreds of signatures just in the last week for an online letter addressed to the commissioner of higher education and the board of regents.  The campaign has even been featured in a couple of print stories in the Lee Newspapers.

You don’t have to be a student to get involved.  The universities need to hear from alumni, sports fans, family and friends, community members and anyone who pays taxes and cares about equality.  Signing the letter takes 20 seconds.

The change is an obvious one and should be adopted immediately.  As a well thought out opinion piece in The Exponent explains,  there are many reasons one policy covering all campuses makes the most sense. The most important reason:

Students — whether they attend UM-Western or MSU-Billings — should have the same assurance of protection.

8 comments

  1. Hi-Liner

    The right wingers are definitely not going to like this. First of all, they’re always clamoring to keep discrimination in place.

    But in this case they’ll be doubly opposed. GOPers believe that while some colleges may have meant well back when they were young, they quickly became a tool for the spread of international communism, which they continues to support today, as evidenced by the teaching of science.

  2. Sandy

    Science is not necessarily the pathway to light. Sometimes, it disguises the pathway to darkness.

    E.g. Dinosaurs fossils were planted by Satan to throw us on the wrong track, and away from the Lord. “Dinosaurs” never roamed the earth, and they never breathed. They only exist in the fossil state. Do not let Satan lead you away from the unaissailable truth the the Bible, which is God’s unfaillible word.

    Genesis 15:9

    “So the LORD said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”

    • --gw--

      Ms. Welch – Is that you? If so, put down the bottle of white zin and slowly step away from the keyboard. I realize Supt. Juneau was re-inaugurated today and so this was a difficult day for you, but we’re here to help.

      Please don’t rock us like a hurricane….

    • Sandy

      I have know idea what you are talking about.

      Matthew 7:3-5

      Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

    • Jeff Lynch

      So, what you’re saying is that fossils are satanic and animal sacrifice is totally cool?

  3. Norma Duffy @Ilikewoods

    LOL, OMG The only dinosaurs are the Relics in the Conservative base. Where does it specifically say in the Bible Dinosaurs, were made from Satan????? See this is the problem with Republicans. They lost the relevancy for our nation, when they allowed people like Pat Buchanan to speak for their party. Ideologically they have to make up stuff, when they cant prove facts and don’t use evidence.

    I say good for the students, and Ill join them in discussion on Facebook.