Give recruiters access

Military recruiters on some college campuses have felt unwanted as of late, and the U.S. House of Representatives is taking action. The ROTC Military Recruiter Equal Access to Campus Act coerces universities into providing all employers, including the Pentagon, with equal access to students. The act threatens to remove federal funding from schools that do not comply. \nWe agree with the goal of the proposed bill. But universities should never have necessitated the legislation.\nAccording to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the universities defend their actions on free speech grounds. Limiting military recruiter access is a form of protest against the military's anti-gay "don't ask, don't tell" policy. They contend financial threats from the government undermine their first amendment rights.\nUniversity administrators perform a disservice to their students by taking such political stances. The ultimate goal of all graduating students is to find a job. By being politically active, these universities are interfering with that goal.\nFirst and foremost, job-desperate students need unfettered access to as many employers as possible. Students, not universities, choose where they work. Therefore, it is irrelevant what universities think of company policy. Would IU deny Nike access to the Kelly School of Business because of Asian sweatshops? The armed forces provide many legitimate career fields and should be treated as such. \nSecond, University administrators should not impose their political views on students. Every college population covers the spectrum of political and social opinions. Many faculty and students agree with anti-gay policies, and administrators should respect those opinions. By the same token, many college members vehemently disagree with the Pentagon's homophobia. The end lesson, of course, is no university can take a statewide stance with any legitimacy because it does not carry its entire population.\nFor such protests to hold water, they must come from an individual level. This is perfectly acceptable under the proposed legislation. Any student, faculty member or group organization is welcome to protest the recruiters or, indeed, any other employer. This can be an outright picket line or simply ignoring the sales pitch. Conversely, any of the above can also turn out to support ROTC efforts.\nThird, University administrators need to consider what is more important: fighting for social justice or keeping the military stocked with educated officers. America's increasingly high-tech armed forces demand the best and the brightest in order to function effectively. Does anybody want to entrust our national security to second-stringers?\nIt is to everybody's benefit to allow military recruiters equal access to college students. To keep lines of dissent open, recruiters must allow protesters to access them. Ultimately, universities should not engage in this form of political activism because it interferes with their students' ambitions.