The Student Government supports the removal of military recruiters from American University, according to a bill passed yesterday by the General Assembly that will be signed into effect by President Kyle Taylor.
The bill was brought before the assembly in response to a November 2004 federal circuit court ruling allowing universities to bar military recruiters from their campuses without risking the loss of federal money. That case, FAIR v. Rumsfeld, is pending a hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The bill, written by Representative Chris Sgro, who represents off-campus students, was modeled after a University of Berkeley Student Senate bill passed in March. Sgro's bill states that the presence of military recruiters on campus violates American University's policy on nondiscrimination. That policy specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and "applies to every aspect of the operations and activities of the university."
Sgro's bill states that "the presence of recruiters and their anti-gay policies encourages a hostile environment on campus against gay and lesbian people ... American University has a responsibility to protect its students from discrimination."
In 1995, Congress passed a Solomon Amendment, denying schools that barred military recruiters from their campus certain government funds. The plaintiffs in the case, including the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights and the Society for American Law Teachers, say the Solomon Amendment violates first amendment rights protecting free speech by requiring that the Armed Forces get special access to campuses for recruitment efforts.
AU posts a notice at job fairs stating that "an employer recruiting today, the United States military, discriminates in its hiring practices on the basis of sexual orientation." The notice references the Solomon Amendment to explain why the recruiters are allowed at the job fairs, according to the GA bill.
By passing this bill, the SG is requesting that the University administration take measures to immediately ban recruiters from campus. The SG also resolved to deny the use of SG facilities and assets to military recruiters. Sgro confirms that there are recruiters on campus but he is not sure whether they have used SG funds or facilities.
An amendment was added to the bill by Representative Matt Larson to stipulate that the use of AUTO vans will not be denied to ROTC students for the purpose of transportation to and from military-related events. Representative Katie Myers added another amendment to state that the bill will not apply to ROTC students unless they are in the process of active recruiting.
The bill passed by a voice vote with only one representative, Adam Rosenblatt, voting against it.
