Let 'Em Fight

On Tuesday, I ended up with one of the biggest conflict of interests that I have experienced in a while, if ever. It is extremely difficult to compromise one set of beliefs over another. Fellow class senator, and a good friend of mine, Zack Brown, drafted a resolution for DCGA (Denison Campus Governance Association) in light of a recent court ruling which allows schools to bar military recruiters from their campuses without penalty (and I should note that this resolution had other co-sponsors, however, this is the only version of the resolution that I have and those other co-sponsors are not reflected here):

DCGA Resolution:
Military Recruitment on Campus

Presented by:
Senator Zack Brown, 2005
Co-Sponsored by:
Co-Governor Rebeca Bell, 2005; Senator Jason Dozier, 2005;

"The court understood that if bigots have a First Amendment right to exclude gays, then enlightened institutions have a right to exclude
bigots."



WHEREAS, The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a 10-year federal law known as the Solomon Amendment, saying it infringed on the free speech rights of schools that had sought to limit on-campus recruiting in response to the military's ban on homosexuals, and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of Denison University not to engage in discrimination in its educational, student life, and employment policies against students on the basis of sexual orientation, and

WHEREAS, by allowing armed forces recruiters on campus where they
will only recruit heterosexual students, the university is participating in discrimination based on sexual orientation, and

WHEREAS, by barring armed services recruiters from campus, Denison University will not face any penalty due to the recent court ruling,

BE IT HEREIN RESOLVED that the Denison Campus Governance Association supports barring the United States Marines, Army, Navy, and Air Force from recruiting on campus until they end their aforementioned discriminatory practices.

You probably notice that despite my admission of conflicting interests, I chose to co-sponsor this resolution. I can explain. The conflict of interest lies in two principles that I hold: Although I have been opposed to the war in Iraq, I fully support the efforts of the United States Armed Services to recruit future officers on college campuses across the country. This country is in dire need for new soldiers, particularly in light of this international crisis. I also feel that historically, the Armed Services has done a better job at bettering the conditions of America's underclasses than education, welfare, or any other government-instituted program. I have family in the military, and I have periodically considered joining myself. However, as an African-American, I absolutely can not compromise my beliefs about the need to abolish discrimination and strengthen our values in regards to inclusion. That principle, above all, is most important to me, which is why, despite my insecurities about this resolution, I chose to co-sponsor it.

If something comes of this on the part of the school, although I highly doubt it will, I feel that I can sleep somewhat comfortably with it. Although the Armed Services is in desperate need for new recruits, it is doing a disservice to itself by not allowing individuals to serve because of their sexual preferences. We currently occupy two Muslim nations, one of which speaks Arabic as a primary language, and we are currently engaged in an indefinite war against an enemy whose leadership is also Arabic speaking, yet, we refuse assistance from those who publicly admit their homosexuality.

"We face a drastic shortage of linguists, and the direct impact of Arabic speakers is a particular problem," said Donald R. Hamilton, who documented the need for more linguists in a report to Congress as part of the National Commission on Terrorism.

One of the discharged linguists said the military's policy on gays is hurting its cause.

"It's not a gay-rights issue. I'm arguing military proficiency issues - they're throwing out good, quality people," said Alastair Gamble, a former Army specialist.

That seems backwards to me. We need help. We need to maximize the potential of our citizenry. One would think that necessity would take priority over the fears that the military brass might have about such a change in policy. At least that was the case with African-Americans in World War II.

What truly bothers me though, is the fate of the Army ROTC program here at Denison. I personally know most of the individuals in this program, and I even tried to join the program myself. However, the fact that the ROTC offers classes, as opposed to traditional forms of military recruitment, puts the program in a grey area, and I am curious to see whether or not it would be affected if the school so chooses to implement DCGA's resolution. I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens.