The news of the "domestic partners benefits" decision struck me as particularly ironic because just one day before that announcement I learned that one of my dependents, my stepson, will not qualify for Emory's Courtesy Scholarship under the new benefits rules. The old definition of a qualifying "child" included natural, adopted and those children under "legal guardianship," which according to my conversations with the Human Resources Benefits Department meant he formerly could qualify for the Courtesy Scholarship in 1996. This benefit had a lot to do with my decision to continue my career at Emory. Under the new rules only natural and adopted children will qualify for the scholarship.
While the definition of a "family" may be subject to wide interpretation, some statistical standard must be agreed upon by groups, whether the group is a neighborhood, state or employees of an institution collectively sharing health care costs and distribution of benefits. Emory should be attempting to treat as a "family" those people who actually function as a family and can legally document it. I believe the statistics will bear out that homes with stepparent/stepchild dependency relationships are among the most common, and society has finally reached the point where these homes are treated as family units. But Emory has taken a step backward from the recognition of the most common of family types and has simultaneously decided to recognize as a family "same sex domestic partners."
Emory has chosen political posturing over logical deduction and acting in its employees' best interest.
Alex V. Daniel
Electronics and Machine Shop
School of Medicine
Editor's note: Stepchildren have not been eligible for Courtesy Scholarships since September 1994. The current policy reads that eligible children are defined "as the eligible employee's natural or legally adopted children in a degree-seeking status and under age 25."