Gay marriage debate draws in higher education

In the Indiana higher education community, a world meant to promote free thinking and debate, a seemingly lower-level question of how university officials weigh in on hot-button issues is being pondered.
Indiana University President Michael McRobbie took the unusual step last week of throwing IU's official support behind an effort to keep the state's ban on gay marriage out of the constitution.
On Monday, the leaders of DePauw University in Greencastle and Wabash College in Crawfordsville made the same decision to join Freedom Indiana, a newly formed organization opposed to the proposed same-sex marriage amendment.
"Equality, compassion and respect for individuals have long been the bedrock of Indiana University's educational mission, and the lack of tolerance implicit in HJR 6 (the amendment) runs counters to IU's deeply held values," McRobbie said in a statement announcing the university's stance. More...