Yale profs file suit against military

Yale Law School professors filed a suit last Thursday against the Department of Defense in response to the military's request that law schools allow full recruiting privileges on campus despite its discrimination against open homosexuality.

The suit follows a similar one filed by a group of professors and students at Penn's Law School on Oct. 1, as well as one by the Society of American Law Teachers and the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights. Oral arguments in the latter case began earlier this month.

The Yale suit was filed by 44 individual law professors, making up two-thirds of the voting members of the faculty of the Law School. It comes in response to threats from the Department of Defense to withhold $300 million in federal aid to the university because of its belief that the Law School is not complying with the Solomon Amendment.

The amendment requires that the military be allowed to recruit students on campus, like all other employers, although they do not sign a nondiscrimination policy. The military employs a "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which prohibits openly gay people from serving, thereby discriminating against openly homosexual individuals.

The military "had a discrimination policy... that we regard as a demeaning and immoral insult to our students," Yale Law School Professor Robert Burt said. "That's why we will not lend them active assistance of the Law School resources."

Yale Law School's nondiscrimination policy was temporarily suspended in September 2002 in order to allow the dean of the school to "assert our beliefs to the Department of Defense" and to ensure that the university did not lose federal funding, Burt said.

The faculty members wanted the Department of Defense to "remove the threat to withhold funds," Burt said.

"We believe that we are in compliance with the Solomon Amendment... we do not bar the military's access to our students."

Burt explained that the Law School has given the military access to their students by providing their names, addresses and phone numbers.

However, "we held back active assistance of our Career Development Office," which holds a computerized appointment network that allows students to set up appointments to meet future employers, Burt said.

"We don't let the military use that service because that's active assistance."

Since last September, when the nondiscrimination policy was suspended, the military was allowed to use this service. However, the Department of Defense did not change its opinion on Yale Law's stand on the Solomon Amendment, according to Burt.

"The faculty decided that that's enough," Burt said. "The Defense Department was not going to acknowledge that our policy was in compliance."

"What I hope will happen is that a judge will rule that the interpretation that the Department of Defense is giving to the Solomon Amendment violates our First Amendment rights for free expression and to choose our associates freely," Burt added. "We want to make sure that our students are all treated equally.... Gay and lesbian people should not have to hide fundamental aspects of their identity."

While Penn and "Yale faculty independently came to the same conclusion" about filing their suits, Burt said that he was aware that the University would be taking legal action.

Those dealing with the issue at Penn say they support Yale faculty in their efforts.

"I think it's a good thing" that Yale filed the suit, Law Professor Howard Lesnick said. "They have the same basic problem that we have."

Lesnick added that he hopes the lawsuit filed by Penn "will come before the court fairly soon."

"My information is that the judge is going to move the case along and we'll get a hearing on that question before too long," Lesnick said.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.