Editorial: Positive Movement on ROTC

When Defense Secretary Dick Cheney came to campus recently, it was good to see President Sheldon Hackney make an effort to try to talk to the secretary about changing the DoD policy that discriminates against homosexuals in the armed forces. And while the president still has not endorsed the University Council resolution calling for ROTC's removal if the Department of Defense does not change the policy, it is also good to see that Hackney has made an effort to reach out to presidents of other schools in the Philadelphia area to gauge their opinions on the matter. Hackney seems to be on the verge of taking up a frontal assault on the DoD policy. We hope that he does the right thing and commits himself to trying to change the policy, even if that means promising to kick ROTC off campus in 1993 if his effort fails. As chairperson of the Council of Ivy Group Presidents, Hackney has the symbolic power to exert more influence than he would yield as simply the president of the University. It's time to use that power to help right a historic injustice.