Texas Prof On Hunger Strike For Same-Sex Domestic Partners Benefits

A University of Texas lecturer is in the third day of a hunger strike to protest the school's lack of same-sex domestic partners benefits. Uri Horesh, 37, is subsisting on water and vitamins until his demands are met.

"The fact that the university is conducting itself in this manner makes me feel like I'm a persona non grata here, a person whose rights are less important than others," said Uri Horesh, a lecturer of Arabic in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies.

Horesh, 37, began his campaign for the university to grant benefits, such as health insurance, to employees' same-sex partners in November, when he filed a complaint with the university's Division of Diversity and Community Engagement. The university has pursued neither his original complaint nor an appeal, citing state law, which prohibits state institutions from recognizing same-sex unions, Horesh said.

Horesh: "I'm not going to start eating until this matter is resolved or I'm taken to the hospital. Whatever happens first." I found Horesh's Friendster page if you'd like to send him a message of support.