Military to recruit on campus

Author: Caroline Stauffer

Captain David Doucette of the United States Marine Corps was on hand Tuesday evening to explain the US' policy of "don't ask don't tell" concerning homosexuality in the armed forces in a standing-room-only McCardell Bicentennial Hall lecture room. After completing the presentation, the military was granted the right to recruit on the Middlebury College campus.

The College's Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer Statement/College Recruitment Policies include a provision stating that when a potential employer refuses to or cannot sign the College's recruiting form, it can still recruit on campus after holding an open meeting with the college community to explain why it cannot conform to the nondiscrimination policy.

This is the first instance in which a potential recruiter has opted to hold such a meeting, according to Dean of Student Affairs Ann Hanson, who moderated the discussion.

It is also the first time the military has attempted to recruit on Middlebury's campus since the implementation of the nondiscrimination policy.

After Hanson urged the audience to engage in an appropriate and respectful conversation, Doucette offered a 15-minute explanation of U.S. Code Title 10, which explains why homosexuals are not allowed to enter the armed forces. In this document, the term homosexual is defined as "any person, regardless of sex, who engages in, attempts to engage in, has a propensity to engage in, or intends to engage in homosexual acts, and includes the terms 'gay' and 'lesbian.'" The policy was changed in 1993 and continued to exclude homosexuals, but also prohibited the military from ever asking the sexual orientation of recruits and members.

"I'm here to find future leaders for the Marine Corps," Doucette said, emphasizing that future pilots were especially sought after. Doucette pursued the opportunity to recruit at Middlebury at the request of a student who wanted classmates to know about educational programs to help students pursue commissions with the U.S. Marine Corps.

Doucette stressed that he was not on site to debate the issue of homosexuals in the military, but to serve as a messenger to explain the policy. He noted that while there were members of the Middlebury College community serving in the military, the number was lower than that of comparable schools. He cited Colgate specifically as having a higher number of enlistees.

Following Doucette's presentation, a 45-minute questioning period ensued. Inquiries from students and staff pertained to the deployment status of homosexuals, the effects of "don't ask don't tell" on women and the possibility of a person's sexual orientation being discovered through coercion. Copies of Title 10 were distributed to the audience.

Doucette set up an information table on Wednesday, Feb. 9 and has permission to conduct individual interviews with interested students on campus Thursday evening. A group of students began planning a protest response upon hearing news of the planned recruitment events. Members of Middlebury Open Queer Alliance (MOQA), the Middlebury allies and other interested parties convened Sunday evening in Chellis House to discuss a plan of action. They distributed handouts at the meeting Tuesday that included suggested questions to ask and facts about gays and lesbians in the military.

One of the organizers, JS Woodward '06, said the goal of the protest action was, "to change the policy so that any employer who would like to recruit at Middlebury must be able to sign our recruitment policy. If they cannot, they should not be allowed to recruit at Midd or use our sources," he said.

The College's policy "prohibits the discrimination in employment, or in admission or access to its educational or extracurricular programs, activities, or facilities, on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, marital status, place of birth, service in the armed forces or against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability."

As of press time, a silent protest on Proctor Terrace was planned for Wednesday, Feb. 9, coinciding with the time frame in which the military was to recruit. They were to stand in mock military formation and use scarves, handkerchiefs and bandanas to blind, deafen and gag the protestors posing as soldiers. The silence was to represent "the inability of homosexual, bisexual and transgender American soldiers to speak out for their rights or talk about their lives with their friends and fellow soldiers," according to an e-mail sent out by protest organizers.

Handouts were to be distributed and a letter was to be made available for members of the College community to sign and deliver to College President Ronald D. Liebowitz and the College Trustees.

Middlebury is by no means the first institution to confront the issue of military recruiting on campus. Just last week, a federal judge ruled in favor of those who supported an attempted ban on military recruitment at Yale Law School.