ROTC status still in doubt

A trail of bureaucratic red tape continues to complicate the University's relationship with the Reserve Officers Training Corps. According to Provost Stanley Chodorow, "the situation is still not in a settled state." The University is waiting to hear from the Pentagon concerning the future status of ROTC on campus. "We're taking about a bureaucracy here," Chodorow said in an interview last week. Chodorow also said he has contacted local colleges and regional ROTC programs to iron out the details of possible future arrangements. He later commented that in accordance with University Council's recommendation on ROTC, the University was not considering removing the battalion from campus. Chodorow added that he had followed up on Council's 1994 recommendation to implement an "arms-length agreement" with ROTC. UC based its decision on the findings of another group -- the Committee to Review the Status of ROTC -- which concluded that ROTC was in violation of the University's non-discrimination policy. Currently, practicing homosexuals are barred from participating in ROTC. Chodorow defined an arms-length agreement as a policy where ROTC could remain on campus but receive no support from the University. Presently, both Army and Navy ROTC receive office space at the Hollenbach Center and support staff from the University. According to College senior and ROTC battalion commander Matt Studer, the proposed arms-length agreement is disheartening. "I'm proud of the fact that I'm an ROTC student at Penn," he said. "It is not fair to the students involved in ROTC." Studer added that the policy will probably undergo revisions before it is implemented. Army Captain Robert Harding, an assistant professor of Military Science and a ROTC recruiting officer, said the arms-length agreement would adversely affect the ROTC program. "There are people who are interested in ROTC, and it is [already] restricted heavily," he said. "ROTC does a better job preparing college students for the real world than any other class?and the scholarships help students come to school." Mathematics Professor Peter Freyd said it is strange for the University to support a "conspicuous violator" of the University's non-discrimination policy. However, Freyd added that he would rather see officers coming from ROTC than the military academies because a college environment fosters closer ties with mainstream society. Harding said ROTC was being used as a "scapegoat for a policy that it had nothing to do with." The University is willing to accept money from the Department of Defense for research, such as funding for the Institute for Advance Science and Technology. According to documents provided by ROTC, under the current "don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue" policy, "no investigations will be conducted solely to determine sexual orientation," and ROTC students are not obligated to disclose their sexual orientation. Cadets are allowed to associate with known homosexuals, march in a gay rights rally in civilian clothing, read homosexual publications and patronize gay bars. However, announcing one's homosexuality will lead to an investigation.