Following the Senate’s repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the U.S. military policy that bans openly gay and lesbian soldiers from serving, Harvard President Drew Faust indicated she would move to recognize ROTC, the military’s college officer training program.
The move does not, however, make it certain an ROTC battalion will be established at Harvard.
Through a statement by a spokesman Faust hailed the news of the repeal:
“The repeal of DADT is a historic step. It affirms American ideals of equal opportunity and underscores the importance of the right to military service as a fundamental dimension of citizenship.”
Faust compared the repeal to President Abraham Lincoln’s integration of black Americans into the military.
“It was no accident that Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation not only guaranteed freedom to Black Americans but at the same time opened the Union Army to their participation,” said Faust. “Because of today’s action by the Senate, gay and lesbian Americans will now also have the right to pursue this honorable calling, and we as a nation will have the benefit of their service.”
“I look forward to pursuing discussions with military officials and others to achieve Harvard’s full and formal recognition of ROTC,” Faust added. “I am very pleased that more students will now have the opportunity to serve their country. I am grateful to the Massachusetts delegation for their unified support for repeal.”
Recognition of ROTC by Harvard would end a 41-year ban of the program from campus. Harvard drove ROTC out of the university in 1969 amid protests over the Vietnam War and accusations that the program was academically substandard.
Harvard has been the subject of harsh criticism from the right over the continued ban.
Faust had earlier linked Harvard’s recognition of ROTC to the end of DADT.
Faust’s statement does not necessarily mean that ROTC will physically return to Harvard’s campus. The faculty senate will need to approve its return.
But financial issues may be the bigger issue. Many colleges around the country recognize ROTC, though they do not have a battalion on campus because it is cheaper to consolidate ROTC students from nearby colleges into a single, regional program.
Currently Harvard students wishing to join ROTC do so at neighboring MIT, which hosts a battalion.
“The current infrastructure is sufficient to both produce the desired number of commissionees,” said Eileen Lainez, a spokeswoman for the Department of Defense. “There is abundant opportunity for interested students to participate.”
Wyatt Troia is a staff writer for the Harvard Salient and a student at Harvard. He is a member of the Student Free Press Association.
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