Hackney attends UA debate

President Sheldon Hackney attended a meeting of the Undergraduate Assembly last night and was greeted by a heated debate about the Reserve Officers Training Corps' discrimination against gays, lesbians and bisexuals. Well over 60 students turned out for the meeting, which went according to standard UA procedure, despite the presence of Hackney and his aide Nicholas Constan. Hackney answered questions students asked him, but made no formal presentation. Representative You-Lee Kim sparked debate with a proposal calling on Hackney to "ensure that the ROTC comply with the University's [nondiscrimination] policy by June 1993." UA representatives and several students in the audience spoke both in favor of and opposed to the proposed resolution. Members of ROTC and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Alliance, along with UA reprentatives, were primary participants in the vigorous, yet orderly, debate. ROTC cadet and Wharton junior Mary Duarte said while she feels gay and lesbians should be admitted to the military, ROTC units should not be punished for Department of Defense policy. After the debate, UA members voted on an amended version of Kim's proposal. The new version does not demand that Hackney pressure ROTC to change the policy, instead saying the UA "pledges to coordinate and engage in efforts to persuade the Department of Defense to alter its discrimination policy prior to the June 1993 deadline." Sloan Wiesen, an LGBA member, said he was "disturbed" by the resolution passed by the UA. "They're ignoring the needs of lesbian, gay and bisexual students in and out of the military," Wiesen said. Ethan Youderian, a freshman UA representative, said he supported an end to the discrimination at the University, but not if it would come at the cost of ROTC students. "Although this resolution has the right spirit, it does not go about it in the right way," he said. Kim said while she was pleased that the UA passed the resolution, she wished that it had not been "effectively rendered impotent." "I really wish that people had been willing to take a risk," she said after the unanimous vote. UA chairperson Duchess Harris agreed. "I would have rather seen a stronger proposal," she said. "But I was glad we could take some action." After the meeting, Hackney said he was impressed with the "quality of the discussion," and would "absolutely" take the points raised by the students into account in his final decision. "I was very pleased to see the undergraduate representatives understanding the complexities of the questions," he said. Before the ROTC debate, Hackney heard reports from committee chairs. Representative Jennifer Strom read a proposed resolution asking the University to add a $5 surcharge to undergraduate's bursar bills to raise money for student activities. The proposal would bring in approximately $45,000 to student government. "The message you are sending is one I am in favor of," Hackney told the body. But, in light of the current budget constraints the University faces, he warned, "don't expect me to support it." The constitutional convention was also discussed and delegate Youderian said a new proposal is in the works to "reform" student government. He called this upcoming weekend's convention, "the most significant of the year." Harris added she was pleased with the turnout and the substance of the debate. "The debate actually was educated," she said. "They had knowledge about what they were talking about."

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