Should military recruiters be legally allowed on college campuses?

[JaJae]

In the mid-1990's a Republican Congressman Gerald Solomon of NY proposed an amendment designed to stop Department of Defense funding to campuses that refused access to military recruiters. The bill passed, however, the Clinton administration and Janet Reno (Justice Department) refused to enforce the amendment or attempt to get campuses to allow recruiters.

So in 1996 Congress changed the amendment to include the Departments of Labor, Education and Health and Human Resources. Still the administration did nothing.

This went on until George W Bush was elected president and we saw 9/11. In the Spring of 2002 the Pentagon began turning the screws on federally subsidized schools that continued to deny access. They started sending letters to mostly law institutions since they were consistently the ones who refused access to recruiters. They refused for a while, but being faced against an administration would actually have pulled the plug on their donations, they gave in. Yale, for example, receives $350 million each year in federal funding; Harvard: $300 million. They didn't want to lose that funding.

But it didn't end there, in 2003 academia struck back in a lawsuit started in Yale and supported by FAIR and Gay/Lesbian alliances. They said the "don't ask don't tell" policies of the Department of Defense violated their school policies. FAIR lawyer Josh Rosencrantz stated "If the first amendment gives bigots the right to discriminate against gays then certainly it gives the right to right-minded academic institutions to discriminate against bigots." Thirty-one law schools participated in the lawsuit.

In 2004, Congress once again strengthened the Solomon Amendment to explicitly require institutions to give military recruiters the same access as they give recruiters from non-military employers such as AT&T, Ford, Microsoft, etc.

However, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Solomon Amendment unconstitutional in December of 2004. Immediately Harvard, Yale, et al made announcements that military recruiters would no longer be welcome on their campuses. Despite this gross example of radical academia and judges legislating from the bench, in February 2, 2005 the House of Representatives voted to uphold the Solomon Amendment. Only 84 members of the House voted against the resolution. Typically these members can easily be found as the same ones complaining we were fighting in Iraq with American's poor, uneducated, unprivileged... such as: Nancy Pelosi, Charles Rangel, John Conyers, Barney Frank, Dennis Kucinich, Henry Waxman, etc.

A year later in March 2006, the case was brought to the US Supreme Court who unanimously overturned the lower court's ridiculous ruling and showing that America's top law professors were misguided on their beliefs of constitutional law. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the decision, "A military recruiter's mere presence on campus does not violate a law school's right to associate, regardless of how repugnant the law school considers the recruiter's message... The Solomon Amendment neither limits what law schools may say nor requires them to say anything."

So as it stands now the Solomon Amendment is binding. The Federal Government has the right to refuse funding to schools who refuse access to military recruiters. Due to the unanimous decision of the Supreme Court I don't think it's worthwhile to debate the constitutionality of the amendment, however, it does invoke an interesting debate that has polarized two faction groups in America.

Do you think colleges should be required to give military recruiters the same rights on college campuses as non-military recruiters?

I think public schools should without a doubt give military recruiters the same access they give non-military recruiters. Private schools I feel should be able to do as they please, however, if the government wants to stop funding them they should do so as well.

[Thorgrim]

NYU Law, one of the top 5 law schools in America, doesn't allow military recruitment, and doesn't get federal funds...i don't see a real problem with that

They strongly believe, and it's pretty obvious, that the US Military supports anti-homosexual rules, why would any institution devoted to justice...like a top law school...go along with such an injustice?

Other colleges are in a bind because they depend so much on federal funding that they'd go under if they were denied any money from the government while a neighboring state school got huge federal/state funding

So, while it sucks that we have such homophobia rampant and forced on American college kids, America has always has problems with human rights, but on the whole we usually shine more than we stain...

[lew]

Our military shouldn't be allowed on any college campuses.

[SpicyMcVoodoo]

The military is an employer just like any other government agency, so i don't see why the FBI, CIA, etc. should get to recruit and not the military.

I don't think they should be allowed on high school campuses, however, because of the undue influence they have over minors to join the military.

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by SpicyMcVoodoo

The military is an employer just like any other government agency, so i don't see why the FBI, CIA, etc. should get to recruit and not the military.

I don't think they should be allowed on high school campuses, however, because of the undue influence they have over minors to join the military.

the FBI does not discriminate against homosexuals, especially as official policy

[6SpeedTA95]

If the school gets federal funds of any kind they should be required to allow military recruitment on campus.

If they dont, then it should be completely up to the school.

[hsmith]

Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95

If the school gets federal funds of any kind they should be required to allow military recruitment on campus.

If they dont, then it should be completely up to the school.

Why? So the federal government can steal your tax money then bribe you to get it back?

[P/N]

Originally Posted by hsmith

Why? So the federal government can steal your tax money then bribe you to get it back?

As opposed to welfare where they steal other people's money and give it to those who refuse to work?

To get back on topic, yes military recruiters should be allowed on college campuses. Thorgrim gave it the old college try and spun it (to no one's surprise), but kids are not forced to go to college. They do it voluntarily. If a school receives federal funding, then the recruiters should be allowed on campus. If the kids (or young adults if you prefer) don't want to join, then don't join. No one is holding a gun to their head and forcing them to sign up. They are of legal voting age and are legal adults.

As far as recruiters at public high schools go, if ANY employer is allowed on the campus, then the military should be allowed as well. As for private colleges and private high schools where no federal or state funding is received, that is up to the individual school as to whether to allow military recruiters on campus or not.

[SpicyMcVoodoo]

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

the FBI does not discriminate against homosexuals, especially as official policy

So let people who disagree with that policy protest by not joining, picketing or whatever. There's nothing illegal going on here, so I think that's a better solution that completely removing the military from colleges. I wouldn't appreciate my university infantilizing me by cutting off access to certain employers any more than I'd appreciate them blocking access to certain distasteful sites on the internet. I'd rather they let me decide.

What's next? The CIA is barred because someone doesn't like their wiretap program? The EPA is involved because they gave a polluting company preferential treatment? This can become ridiculous very quickly. What students wants his access to employers to be a function of some school administrator's political whims?

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by SpicyMcVoodoo

So let people who disagree with that policy protest by not joining, picketing or whatever. There's nothing illegal going on here, so I think that's a better solution that completely removing the military from colleges. I wouldn't appreciate my university infantilizing me by cutting off access to certain employers any more than I'd appreciate them blocking access to certain distasteful sites on the internet. I'd rather they let me decide.

So you'd have no problem having the KKK, neo-nazis, etc taking up recruitment space at your college...just because they know how to make a website?

[P/N]

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

So you'd have no problem having the KKK, neo-nazis, etc taking up recruitment space at your college...just because they know how to make a website?

The KKK, the neo-nazis, etc... are not employers. Try following along...

[SpicyMcVoodoo]

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

So you'd have no problem having the KKK, neo-nazis, etc taking up recruitment space at your college...just because they know how to make a website?

It depends. I'm not sure of how employers are selected for on campus recruiting. Assuming that there is no shortage of space, and the KKK is paying good money and has several legitimate jobs open, then sure, let them in. Maybe someone will appreciate earning 48K/year at the KKK offices. But certainly you cannot be a crackpot offering no real employment opportunities and use the space for propaganda.

If there's only enough space to allow either Boeing or the KKK, then there are certainly non-political reasons for allowing Boeing and not the KKK (like they have more jobs to offer or whatever).

[lew]

No military agency should be trying to recruit at any type of school.

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by P/N

The KKK, the neo-nazis, etc... are not employers. Try following along...

Sure they do, lots of these groups have representation positions, etc

Spicy: Alright, a different opinion

[Stylerod]

If businesses are allowed to be on college campuses for Job Fairs then I think the military should be allowed there as well.

[Phantom]

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

So you'd have no problem having the KKK, neo-nazis, etc taking up recruitment space at your college...just because they know how to make a website?

Don't you think they should be able to do so? Who do you think everyone should trust to make the decisions as to what viewpoints we should be exposed to? (Please don't say the DNC)

Viewpoint discrimination is ALWAYS horrible policy IMO.

[thomez]

A better solution is to end federal funding to law schools, wait... to colleges all together... then they can no longer hold you by the nuts and force you to do things you don't want to do.

This is why both Democrats and Republicans want to fund EVERYTHING.... the more things they send money to, the more things they can control from Washington... it is idiotic that we have let it get to this point.

If Yale did not depend on federal funds, they could tell the DOJ/Pentagon/President to go fuck a duck... as it ought to be. There is no reason that Yale should be in the position of being forced to comply or lose millions in federal funds .... stop the money, stop the money, stop the money. Get the federal government out of the Accounts Recievable department in both State colleges and private colleges.

[WickedLou9]

Private schools should be able to pick and choose who they allow on thier campus. If the government offers a monetary incentive to allow military recruitment on the campus and the school accepts those terms than fine. If the school refuses the money because of the recruitment then fine.
I don't think that the government should ever force a university or college to accept recruiters of any kind unless they are wanted there.
If the school chooses to accept federal funds and in so doing, chooses to allow recruiters, then I don't have a problem.

It's a matter of choice. if there is a choice, OK. If there is a mandate, not OK.

[thomez]

Originally Posted by WickedLou9

If the school chooses to accept federal funds and in so doing, chooses to allow recruiters, then I don't have a problem.

and this is why the IRS collects your tax dollars.... they want to fund education, roads, bridges, health care research, etc etc etc

basically they send money to everything, then with the power of the dollar they can control everything from Washington. They can tell Yale what to do, they can tell your local elementary school what tests to give, they can mandate a legal drinking age in your state, they can ban medical marijuana, etc etc.... as soon as they fund everything and hold those dollars over your head we are stuck with whatever less than 400 folks in Washington think is good for us....