When I entered the University of Notre Dame in August of 2010, same-sex marriage was an invisible issue. Three weeks ago, the University announced that it had decided to extend employment benefits to legally married same-sex couples. The university did so willingly and without coercion of civil law. Notre Dame’s president has even hailed the decision as one that creates “a less imperfect community of love [at Notre Dame],” since “we recognize an urgent call to welcome, support and cherish gay and lesbian brothers and sisters.”
What accounts for such a rapid change in the university’s operative definition of marriage, especially when a change in the state’s legal definition did not compel Notre Dame to change its definition?
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