Move focus to policy

The campaign to prevent military recruiters from gaining access to law schools was recently dealt a major setback. Against the wishes of Penn's and many other law schools, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Solomon Amendment, which allows the government to deny funding to schools who restrict the access of military recruiters on school campuses, even though the government prohibits openly gay individuals from serving in the armed forces.

Certainly, Penn Law students and faculty are upset and disappointed with the decision. Many have argued that the policy forces schools to endorse discrimination. And the American Association of Law Schools, of which Penn Law is a member, calls on its schools to not allow discriminatory recruiters on campus. But Penn has little choice when faced with the option of accepting military recruiters or losing out on millions of dollars in federal funds.

With this decision, the Supreme Court has rightly upheld the law and directed law schools' efforts in the correct direction. However bad laws may be, Congress has the right to make them, and universities do not have the right to pick and choose which laws to obey. With the decision behind them -- though a Penn professor's lawsuit on the matter has yet to be decided -- all concerned parties can move their focus in the proper direction: changing the law.

As a leading voice in the intellectual community, Penn should always feel compelled to criticize the government when it disagrees with its policies. However, that discussion should now move to the actual "don't ask, don't tell" policy -- which allows gays in the military so long as they don't admit their sexual orientations -- and away from the idea of its enforcement being unconstitutional.

The University is a significant force in Washington, and, when grouped together, universities as a whole are even more powerful. Schools that disagree with the military's policy should use their influence to lobby Washington to change the law.

The Solomon Amendment has upset a lot of people. But with the Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institution Rights decision behind them, activists can now concentrate on a better goal: eliminating the military's troubled policy altogether.

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