Law students, faculty protest military recruiters

On the first day of on-campus Army recruiting, Law students and faculty members held a demonstration. The first wave of military recruiters got less than a red carpet welcome yesterday at the Law School, as more than 40 Law students and faculty members protested their arrival with signs proclaiming, "It's all about the benjamins baby," "Discrimination demoralizes" and "So much for Solomon's wisdom." The Law School had barred on-campus military recruiting because the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward homosexuals violates the school's nondiscrimination policy. But fearing the loss of federal financial aid, Law School faculty voted last week to cooperate with the government and and allow recruitment for a trial year. The Army's Judge Advocate General Corps announced last week that a representative would begin recruiting yesterday, and despite the short notice, students and faculty contested the Law School's decision by protesting at the JAG information and recruitment session. Protesters paraded through the meeting room before the start of session chanting, "We didn't ask. They shouldn't come," and waving picket signs playing on popular military slogans. Army JAG representative Mary Bradley told those in attendance that she understood the Law School's policy but was "not going to debate it or pass judgement on it." Protesters stood together on one side of the room and repeatedly interrupted Bradley to ask questions pertaining to JAG Corps discrimination. Students barraged Bradley with questions on homosexual conduct cases, domestic partner benefits and sexual harassment. Bradley -- who initially posed for photographs with the protesters and asked to keep anti-JAG posters -- responded by diverting the questions to relevant recruitment topics or refusing to answer altogether. "I am just here to do my presentation for the JAG Corps," she said. "But I can give you the phone number of someone who can answer your questions." Bradley also discussed the Army's JAG summer internship program, which, unlike active duty, does not discriminate in any form. She said the program is interested in Law students with "great leadership ability," and pointed to third-year Law student Erik Oliver, one of the protest organizers, as an example of such a leader. "[Bradley] was obviously trying to play it friendly most of the way," Oliver said. "But whether she is generally sympathetic or cynical, I'm not sure. Clearly, it was to the military's advantage to send someone who is bright and articulate so she can easily dodge the issues." Protesters did not press Bradley further, nor did they obstruct the entrance of the handful of students who came to listen to her presentation. Most interested students arrived after the presentation had begun and left shortly afterward. "I thought the entire session went very well," said Gary Clinton, assistant dean of student affairs for the Law School. "I'm very proud of the law students. They did a wonderful job in such a short amount of time." And first-year Law student Sujatha Bariga said "protesters did extremely well using their legal strengths to undermine the Army's position." Both students and faculty stressed that they will be more prepared to protest Navy, Marine and Air Force JAG Corps recruitment, which could begin as early as next week.