House protects campus recruiting

A bill to protect a federal law denying funds to colleges refusing to allow military recruiters on campus, is expected to go to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives sometime this week.\nThe bill is a reaction to lawsuits filed by more than a dozen law schools, including Yale and the University of Pennsylvania, which challenge the constitutionality of a law requiring schools to allow military recruiters on campus.\nSome colleges are opposed to the recruiting law claiming their rights to freedom of speech. Many colleges want to ban military recruiters on campus because they believe the armed forces' "don't ask, don't tell" policy violates the antidiscrimination policies of the colleges, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education article.\nThe bill is called the ROTC Military Recruiter Equal Access to Campus Act. Funds are denied to schools that ban military recruiters under provisions of the Solomon Amendment.\nThough there have been several instances of opposition to military recruiters at other schools, Capt. Charles Yager, recruiting operations officer for the Army ROTC at IU, said he hasn't encountered any such problems.\n"IU is very helpful," he said. "We have a great working relationship with the University. (It is) very supportive and very helpful to ROTC."\nYager said if this bill passes, he doesn't believe it will have any affect on the ROTC's relationship with the school.\n"The Army ROTC won first place this year at IU Sing, (which shows) the University is accepting to the (ROTC) program," he said. The Army ROTC is also involved on campus with Little 500, flag ceremonies at ball games and intramural sports, he said.\nThough other schools have experienced conflict, especially within recruiting at law schools, Yager said he hasn't had any problems with the School of Law, and said many of the professors there have prior service in the military.\n"We have strong supporters in our program," he said.\nKim Bunge, assistant director of career services at the School of Law, said military recruiters come to the law school regularly, usually once in the fall and once in the spring, to recruit soon-to-be graduates.\n"We post that we have to let them here because of the Solomon Amendment," Bunge said. "On the things we send out, (students are) well aware why (the recruiters are) here -- it's not like it's something we're for."\nBunge said in the past there has been some student opposition to the military recruiters' presence.\n"We have had students who opposed them being here. They handed out flyers and pamphlets," she said. "We let them do that as long as it's done in a professional manner."\nThough some feel the military discriminates against homosexuals, Patrick Donahue, director of Career Development Center and Arts & Sciences Placement Office, said the military is not alone, as other organizations and employers do the same.\n"Each organization is going to have its own standards that apply," he said. "There are other organizations where sexual orientation is not protected by policy, but they still recruit on campus."\nHe said some organizations and employers require sexual orientation to be reported, while others do not.\n"There is a unique debate going on ... not just in the military," he said. "Should the University's policies apply to employers or organizations affiliated with the University?"\nIf the bill passes, colleges that don't allow recruiters on campus will face stiffer penalties when seeking federal financing.