Under a new policy prompted by an opinion from the state attorney general, domestic partners of students, faculty and staff are now eligible to become members of the University's gyms.
With the new Plus One program, faculty and staff receiving benefits and full-time students are able to select an adult member of their household to gain access to the University's gyms for a yearly fee. Previously, only spouses and children of students and employees were eligible for gym memberships, University spokesperson Carol Wood said.
The gym membership policy has often been used as an example of discrimination against same-sex partners, said Wyatt Fore, former president of Queer and Allied Activism.
QuAA examined several areas where domestic partners did not receive the same benefits as spouses, including health insurance, Fore said. Gym membership, he noted, "is a symbolic case just because it's really ridiculous."
Fore said he believes the recent policy change is a response to the controversy over domestic partner benefits.
According to Wood, while the Plus One program can apply to domestic partners, its purpose is broader.
"It's really looking at what's good for members of our community and what is fair," she said.
Wood said University administrators requested the opinion from Virginia Attorney General Robert McDonnell to confirm that they had the legal authority to change the policy.
"Previously it was not clear whether we did or not," she said.
In his written response issued June 7, McDonnell stated, "The University of Virginia is authorized to provide a recreational gym membership to an adult who is not a spouse and who lives in the household of an employee or student."
Determining eligibility for gym membership falls under the jurisdiction of the University, McDonnell stated, as part of the power Virginia grants the University to "manage its property, including use of that property by employees and students."
McDonnell's spokesperson Tucker Martin noted that this opinion specifically addresses the question of whether the University can determine its gym membership policies and does not deal at all with the "nature of relationships."
"A very narrow question is asked and a narrow answer is returned -- that's how this process works," Martin said.
Neil Hultgren, chair of the University's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center operating board, said he is happy the University has created the Plus One program.
"It's something I've hoped U.Va. would do for a long time," he said.
Yet Hultgren added he would like to see the University extend more benefits to domestic partners.
"This is not a terminal step by any stretch of the imagination," Fore said.
QuAA President Leah Funk said while the group will continue to push for domestic partner benefits in other areas, she is happy to hear about this change.
"I'm really excited about this," Funk said. "I think it proves that the University is willing to change despite what a lot of people say."
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