Two weeks is not a lot of time to get to know someone.

But that is all of the paid leave the University is willing to provide for fathers to begin to know their newborn children. Mothers, on the other hand, get six weeks of paid leave. If the child happens to be adopted, both parents get six weeks.

In a measure devoid of logic or compassion, University President Joab Thomas passed a family leave bill in December that leans more on the '50s-era model of the working husband and diligent housewife than the '90s reality of shared family responsibilities.

Instead of approving the University faculty senate's amended bill, which would have given both parents at least six weeks paid leave after the birth or adoption of a child, Thomas went with the original bill -- a version that basically treats fathers as second-class parents.

"I'm fully aware of and sensitive to the questions of gender equity that the amendment proposes," Thomas told the faculty senate at its Decemer meeting. But then he supported a version that threw gender equity out the window. Thomas explained his action by saying that he had consulted other universities about their family leave policies and found them similar to his version of the bill. That kid of logic should be discarded like dirty diapers. The University should direct its efforts toward being a leader in the area of family leave and gender equity, rather than a follower. If Penn State wants to live up to its responsibilities, it can't rely on outdated ideas when fashioning new policies.

Thomas should either give birth to a new bill or adopt the faculty senate's version and treat fathers with the equal respect that they deserve.