The United States Air Force Judge Advocate General (JAG), which adheres to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," will be recruiting at the UW Law School, tomorrow, despite the Law School's policy that any employer using the Career Services Office must agree to not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.
A written statement hanging outside the Law School's Career Services Office explains why JAG is allowed to recruit at the Law School even though discrimination based on sexual orientation is not permitted under Wisconsin law or the policies of the University of Wisconsin.
"Representatives of the United States military are permitted to interview at the University of Wisconsin Law School because of the provision of UW-Madison Faculty Document 542, 5 December 1983, and because of the loss of federal funds to the University that would otherwise be imposed under federal statutes, commonly known as the Solomon Amendment."
Under the Solomon Amendment, if the Law School refused to assist JAG with recruiting, perhaps as much as $500 million in federal funding for the entire University would be jeopardized. Wrote Law School Dean Ken Davis in a letter to the entire Law School, "The Law School thus permits on-campus interviewing by military recruiters for pragmatic reasons."
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell," passed into law in 1993, was a compromise to President Clinton's campaign pledge to completely lift the ban on gays, lesbians and bisexuals in the military. Nevertheless, the website SolomonResponse.org reports that, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is a practical ban on gay men, lesbians and bisexuals serving in the military, and that it "is the only law in this country that authorizes the firing of an American simply for coming out as gay, lesbian, or bisexual." Moreover, over 10,000 Armed Services members were discharged between 1994 and 2004 at a cost between one-quarter billion and $1.2 billion just to train replacements for those men and women fired simply because of their sexual orientation.
The Solomon Amendment, first passed into law in 1995, came when students on university campuses across the country were able to successfully block recruiters who discriminated from interviewing on their campuses.
Students and faculty across the country have responded to the Solomon Amendment in various ways. For example, Student Bar Associations have passed resolutions condemning military recruiting on campus; 36 laws schools and law faculties, including the University of Wisconsin's, have joined the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, which is currently challenging the Solomon Amendment before the United States Supreme Court; and students have protested — most recently, while JAG was recruiting on campus, NYU student protesters gagged themselves with camouflage bandanas, while those who passed by were greeted with slogans like, "Quiet, discrimination in process," and, "Dick Cheney, let your daughter serve."
Students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison — which, according to Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., has a history as a leader in social justice advocacy — have not been silent on the discrimination in the military and the Solomon Amendment. In 1989, both students and faculty at UW approved resolutions that called for an end to the university's contract with ROTC unless the military agreed to accept homosexuals (the UW Board of Regents rejected the resolution). Protests were sporadic throughout the 1990s, but last April, Chancellor Wiley met with students who encouraged him to halt military recruiting, and ASM discussed a proposal for a resolution denying military and government officials from recruiting on campus due to discriminatory policies against gays and lesbians. Unfortunately, the resolution was rejected.
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell," was a flawed compromise and needs to be repealed. Repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," should continue to be a high priority for students across the country. At UW, ASM should continue to discuss the Solomon Amendment and try to reach a compromise resolution. On campus, students should protest military recruiting until "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," is repealed.
After all, the United States is supposed to be a world leader in civil liberties. It is about time that the United States follows in the footsteps of Britain, Canada, Australia, Israel and at least 24 other nations who have an open policy towards gay men, lesbians and bisexuals serving their country.
There was a time on this campus when student activism influenced the rest of the country. That was a time when enough students knew that getting a Wisconsin education meant more than going to class. After all, to borrow a line from Rep. Baldwin, "social justice can only be achieved if student activism marches on."
Jason Saltoun Ebin ([email protected]) is a second-year law student.
