"Hey, hey, we don't hate, we just want to litigate!"
So chanted throngs of students yesterday afternoon as they progressed down Locust Walk, brandishing rainbow flags and picket signs.
Roughly 100 people from across the University gathered to support Penn Law School students in their opposition to the United States Air Force's presence in the On-Campus Recruiting Office.
Students were protesting not due to the ongoing conflict in Iraq, but because the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy directly conflicts with Penn's nondiscrimination policy, which includes sexual orientation.
Military representatives were on campus yesterday to hold recruiting interviews for Law School students interested in becoming Judge Advocate Generals, or JAGs. Under the law commonly referred to as the "Solomon Amendments," colleges and universities that receive federal funding must allow the military to actively recruit on their campuses.
Despite some initial concerns that the rain might discourage would-be protesters, a crowd quickly formed in front of the Law School. The group soon departed, marching toward McNeil Hall, where the Office of On-Campus Recruiting is located.
Following a short yet spirited rally between Vance and McNeil halls, second-year Law student Georgi Daugherty suggested that they "quietly and respectfully" place signs and posters in the office where military representatives were holding interviews.
The students placed the signs -- which included the caveat, "Warning: Discrimination Ahead" -- and then left, bringing an end to the protest and satisfaction to the students, who overwhelmingly declared the demonstration a success.
Ellen London and Bryan Tallevi, both second-year students at the Law School and co-chairs of Lambda Law, a group that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students at the Law School, organized the march. They had been planning the event since April, with several meetings and events leading up to the protest. Last week, they organized a panel discussion involving faculty members to formally address the issue.
According to Jo-Ann Verrier, assistant dean for career planning and placement, the Law School, as a member of the American Association of Law Schools, has denied recruiting services offered by the Office of On-Campus Recruiting to the military in the past because of the military's discriminatory policies against the LGBT community.
Since the only funds jeopardized were Department of Defense Funds, which the Law School did not receive, it was not initially a problem.
However, in 1997, the funds affected by the Solomon Amendments were expanded. In 2000, Congress passed further legislation stating that if one school in a university does not comply with the law, funding can be withheld from the entire university.
As a result, the government threatened to withhold funding from Penn, which totals in the hundreds of millions. To deal with the problem, the Law School allowed the military to use the resources of Career Services, but not to directly utilize the On-Campus Recruiting Services of the Law School.
However, last January the University received a letter from the Air Force explaining that the University was in violation of the Solomon Amendments because it was denying the military recruiting resources available to other private employers.
With millions of dollars at stake -- London estimates between 500 and 800 million -- the Law School was essentially forced to allow the Air Force to recruit on campus this year.
According to Verrier, only the Air Force came forward to threaten the University's funding, and the Army appears to remain content with past recruiting efforts through Career Services.
"Army JAG very successfully recruited via [the Career Services] program," Verrier said.
As part of the demonstration, several openly gay students interviewed for the position in protest.
The program interviews relatively few students, with only about five seriously interested in a JAG position. Verrier said that at least one student from Penn Law typically becomes a JAG each year.
London and Tallevi said they took every measure possible to ensure that students truly interested in the job were in no way affected by today's protest. Students interviewing in protest deliberately scheduled their interviews last.
The recruiter "supported our protest and was generally understanding," Tallevi said. "I have nothing but nice things to say about him."
Lambda Law has received extensive support for its efforts, receiving "hundreds of positive responses and two negative ones," according to Tallevi.
College freshman Jonathan Goldstein felt that the protest helped raise awareness of the issue at Penn.
"Walking down... Locust Walk especially, everyone was... staring at us," Goldstein said. "And that was really the whole idea."
Despite the success of the event, however, most agreed with Tallevi's statement at the close of the rally -- "Hopefully next year we won't need to be here making noise."
