In light of Congress’s recent repeal of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy governing the United States Armed Forces, Boston College Law School is revising a statement explaining that it is required to allow military Judge Advocate General (JAG) recruiters on campus.
The statement currently labels the military as an employer with a history of discrimination.
“With the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the non-discrimination policy is in the process of being revised. While the spirit of the non-discrimination policy is clear, in practice BC Law is in compliance with the Solomon Amendment and has afforded military recruiters the same access as any other employer,” said Boston College spokesman Jack Dunn.
The statement, found in the Law School’s 2010-2011 edition of its job handbook, is listed as a “discrimination notice” next to the listing of the military as a possible employer. The military recruits law students to join the JAG corps, the legal branch of the military.
“The Armed Forces, of which the Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG) is a part, has had a long history and a current practice of discrimination on the basis of orientation,” the statement reads in part.
It also addressed the need to combat negative feelings regarding allowing a “discriminatory” organization on campus: “The Law School will engage in appropriate activities to ameliorate any negative effects that granting access to the military may have on the quality of the learning environment for its students, particularly its gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students.”
“Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” was an executive order that former President Bill Clinton issued in 1993 as an enforcement measure regarding Congress’s ban of homosexuals in the military. However, President Barack Obama signed a repeal measure passed by Congress during the 2010 lame duck session. The statement that BC Law issued does not mention that it was Congress that passed the law barring homosexuals from military service.
Jesse Naiman is the former editor-in-chief of the Boston College Observer. He is a member of the Student Free Press Association.
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