War Recuiters on Campus and Justice Robert's Opinion

[Anita Garcia]

An excellent article about war recruiters on campus and Justice Robert's opinion:
<http://www.louisianaweekly.com/weekly/news/articlegate.pl?20060313x>
The Solomon Amendment is upheld
By Dr. Andre Perry, Contributing Columnist
March 13, 2006
This week, the Supreme Court voted unanimously to uphold the Solomon Amendment, a federal law that allows military recruiting on campuses that receive federal funding. The surface victory for the military left many college officials asking, "Why should we permit organizations, which explicitly discriminate against gay students, on campuses to recruit? However, the ruling affirmed educators that they are still equipped with the most persuasive recruiting tool - the lectern.

The Supreme Court decision came about because a cohort of law schools formed the group, Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (FAIR), which consequently sued the federal government on grounds that the Solomon Amendment "compels the speech" of host campuses. In other words, permitting military recruiters on campuses is a backdoor endorsement of the armed services' hiring practices.

The Pentagon legislates a ban on homosexuality for service in the military.

. . . .
Newly minted Chief Justice Roberts expressed the opinion of the Court. He wrote, "Law schools therefore 'associate' with military recruiters in the sense that they interact with them. But recruiters are not part of the law school. Recruiters are, by definition, outsiders who come onto campus for the limited purpose of trying to hire students--not to become members of the school's expressive association."

. . . .
Roberts' stated "Law schools remain free under the statute to express whatever views they may have on the military's congressionally mandated employment policy, all the while retaining eligibility for federal funds."

However, FAIR's lawsuit is bigger than free speech and even discrimination. It's also about the argument that true higher education is about ending war.

FAIR's attempt to overturn Solomon adds to the long list of acrimonious actions that pit faculty factions against the armed forces. From the Vietnam protests and Kent State killings of the sixties and seventies to the zealous critiques of United States" invasion of Iraq in 2003, there seems to be an inherent distrust between the two entities.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), was quoted by the Washington Post as saying the appellate decision for FAIR was an "insult" to the military.
...

[gratuitous]

1. Message: You must not question our National Myth

Redemptive violence, the idea that further, greater violence is the only reasonable response to an act of violence, is our true National Myth. It is greater than freedom, greater than liberty, greater than anything enumerated in the Constitution or any of the laws or statutes of our nation. It is so great, in fact, that it doesn't even have to be mentioned. It permeates and penetrates our society and our consciousness in ways great and small, through popular culture (movies, TV shows, books, songs) and in our laws.

The military, of course, is the major beneficiary of this National Myth. For some folks, the world and all those "different" folks have always held a certain disquieting quality. With the greedy xenophobes in power, we can't even have a discussion about this National Myth, because to question their warped world-view is to invite scorn as an "appeaser" or a "traitor", too "naive" about the true ways of the world to be trusted with our nation's security.

[Anita Garcia]

2. eloquent post thanks