National groups may fight ROTC

Several national organizations may initiate legal challenges to the Pentagon's policy prohibiting homosexuals in the military, specifically in ROTC. The National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges decided earlier this month to serve as a clearing house for donations and grants which may eventually support litigation against the Pentagon's policy. And officials from the American Council on Education also may aid schools in a lawsuit against the policy. Several officials said that if such a lawsuit were successful, the change in policy would likely affect all universities, public and private. The Defense Department policy excludes homosexuals from participating in all aspects of the military, including the Reserve Officers Training Corps. Campus leaders have debated the discrepancy between the University's nondiscrimination policy and the ROTC position at length in recent months. University Council passed a resolution in October calling for the ouster of the two campus units by 1993 if the policy is not changed. NASULC President designate C. Peter Magrath said his organization will support a legal challenge if it does not cost too much and if it might succeed. "Our members have consistently taken the position that opposes the current policy of the D.O.D that excludes people, men and women, who are otherwise qualified because they are homosexual," Magrath said. American Council on Education lawyer Sheldon Steinbach said his organization is speaking to legislators and exploring legal action by individuals who have been affected by the policy. Steinbach said these cautious attempts at change will be more effective than simply having campuses ban ROTC. He said the military is cutting back on the number of units anyway and would probably appreciate, rather than be angry at, the action. President Sheldon Hackney has said he is taking similar actions and is attempting to change the policy through "friendly persuasion" rather than immediate action. The University of Wisconsin at Madison, which has long been active in the ROTC debate, is most often mentioned as a place where litigants to challenge the policy could be found. UW-Madison is a land-grant institution, which, as part of its charter, must offer training in military tactics. Media relations specialist Jeff Iseminger said ROTC is the only viable option because to be desirable, training must result in a commission as an officer upon graduation. Iseminger said ROTC still exists at Wisconsin because the State Board of Regents in spring 1990 voted, against the advice of the university's faculty, to maintain the program. In December 1989, Wisconsin faculty became the first in the country to take a stand against the ROTC policy. UW-Madison Chancellor Donna Schalala has agreed to raise private funds to study the feasibility of litigation but no individual at UW-Madison has come forward with a case.

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