Thanks to a change in policy, the domestic partners of UF students will now be able to get spouse tickets for Gator games.
Spouse tickets cost the same as student tickets, which are usually cheaper than general admission.
The University Athletic Association changed its policy last week, according to UAA spokesman Steve McClain.
The UAA's old policy required students who wanted to purchase spouse tickets to submit a valid marriage certificate to the Gator Ticket Office, according to GatorZone.com.
Under the new policy, UF Student Legal Services determines spouse eligibility.
Gator 1 Central then issues the spouse cards used to purchase tickets.
McClain wrote in an e-mail that anyone with a valid Gator 1 spouse card "shall be eligible to purchase single-game and post-season football tickets and men's basketball single-game tickets in accordance with standard UF student ticket policies for those events."
Whitney Blake, Pride Student Union's vice president of outreach, wrote in an e-mail that the old policy was "discriminatory and unacceptable."
"We are as much a part of the Gator Nation as any other student, faculty, or staff here at the University of Florida," Blake wrote.
McClain stated the policy change occurred after the UAA consulted with Student Legal Services but did not answer questions about what prompted the change.
The policy change goes into effect immediately, according to McClain.
Blake wrote that Pride Student Union is happy about the change but believes "it should not have been an issue in the first place."
Ryan Johnson-Travis, a UF grad student studying acting, is also happy about the change.
"I think this is an incredible opportunity for the university to show the world at large that love is love, regardless of what it looks like," Johnson-Travis said.
