Dartmouth to kick ROTC off campus

Dartmouth College last week joined the list of approximately 70 schools to publicly oppose the ROTC policy of excluding homosexuals from participating in their programs. But gay rights activists lost ground at the University of Tampa where a gay student was barred from taking a military science leadership course. These two cases may not have any impact on the future of the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the University, but they indicate a growing concern across the country over this policy. Last spring, ROTC came under fire at the University when a Faculty Senate Committee called for the removal of the two units on campus if they do not comply with the University's non-discrimination policy by June 1993. But President Sheldon Hackney has not acted on the committee's recommendation. His executive assistant, Nicholas Constan, said yesterday that Hackney is working through various channels to try to get the Defense Department to change their policy. The president is expected to make a firm decision about the fate of ROTC during the current academic year. Hackney said this month that he hopes to resolve the issue through diplomatic work in conjunction with other Philadelphia-area schools which have ROTC programs on the University campus. The president wrote a letter to the secretary of defense last year asking him to change the policy, Constan said. "The president would be happiest if we could work towards changing the current opinion in the military," Constan said. "He believes in our non-discrimination policies and certainly agrees that there are inconsistencies between their policy and ours." College senior Sloan Wiesen, a member of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Alliance, said yesterday that although the decision at Dartmouth is encouraging, he hopes that people continue to think about the issues provoking the removal. "For those who are waffling on [the question of removing ROTC], I would pose a question," Wiesen said. "Would they have second thoughts about taking action on it if the group were blacks or Jews or women or men or any other group? If they wouldn't, then there is nothing other than their own bigotry in the way." Wiesen also pointed out that because students could still participate in ROTC on area campuses, removing the units from the University "is a win, win situation." The controversy tends to set up a "false dichotomy of ROTC versus gay people," Wiesen said. This argument does not make sense, he said, because there are currently lesbians and gay men in the military and a change in policy will make it more comfortable for them. The decision at Dartmouth comes after months of discussion by committees about the programs' lack of compliance with their non-discrimination policy. A statement from Dartmouth's Trustees Board chairman said the program will be discontinued in April 1993 if the military does not change its policy, but Dartmouth, like the University said it plans to work with other schools to lobby the Pentagon for change. "We are hopeful that ROTC can continue at Dartmouth," the statement reads. In the case at the University of Tampa, a sophomore, Michael Gagne, wanted to take Military Science 110, but was barred from the class because he is gay. Tampa has set up a special section of the leadership class for Gagne and others who wish to participate. The new class will be taught by civilian faculty. A recent court decision in California could also have an impact on the battle over ROTC. A federal appeals court ruled that the Army must show a reason for its ban of homosexuals. Other actions which may have an impact on the battle over ROTC include legislation in Ohio and Illinois which prohibits their public universities from barring ROTC.

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