I usually don't pay much attention to the fliers that blanket the tables in Mather Hall. Most of the time they're more of an annoyance than anything. I usually end up throwing them on the floor or pushing them down the table to make room for my tray full of delicious food. Last week, however, one flier in particular caught my eye. This flier was advertising a lunch which Sharon Herzberger, our VP of Student Services, and Dean Thomas, the Dean of Students, were having which was open for students to come and discuss their concerns. I thought this was a good idea. Dean Weiner had his little Cave Chats in the past, but since he left those have more of less died out and nothing new was started. As I read on, however, I discovered that this meeting was being held to discuss military recuiting on campus. The invitation to talk about "any other issue" was sort of tacked on at the end. The question I found myself asking was, "Since when did military recruiting become a pressing issue at Trinity?"

The military has been seen as one of the most open institutions in American for many years. The military was integrated long before public schools were. Does this mean we should excuse their descrimination against gays and lesbians? No. The reasons why gays and lesbians should be kept out of the military don't make any sense. The notion that having gays in the military will lower morale or will mean that soldiers can't depend on the person next to them because they are afraid that person could be checking them out seems based on sheer ignorance to me. I view these beliefs with the same scorn that I view notions that blacks are inferior because they different physical features than whites. It just doesn't make any sense.

How can the militay's policies regarding gays and lesbians be changed? Simple, all the president has to do is order that a person's sexual preference is not a criteria for military service. Harry Truman desegregated the military with an executive order. Clinton could do the same. After all, he is the commander in chief. Had Clinton merely issued an order in 1993 when he tried unsuccessfully to taclke this issue we would not have the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that we have today. Instead Clinton waffled in the face of pressure from generals and commanders. If he had any backbone at all, he would have dismissed those officers who wouldn't follow orders as insubordinate.

How does this all relate to Trinity? Well, one of the possible things that I've heard discussed is not letting military recruiters on campus. This is not the way to go about things. First of all, many people make the military a career. Why should they not have the opportunity to see a recruiter if they are interested in the military. Secondly, the military can be a way for people to find some sort of direction in their lives. Last semester, a former Trinity student who is now in the army wrote for the Journal. In the three semesters he had spent at Trinity he had only earned one semester's worth of credit. His life was going nowhere and he was more of less squandering his education. He didn't know what to do with himself, but one day he visited a recruiter on was visiting campus. He signed up thinking that he had to get his life on track somehow. For those of you who read the article you know the outcome. Though not happy with everything about the military, he has gained the discipline and focus that he was lacking in his life. Why should other students who are floating around without anysort of direction or focus be denied an opportunity to get themselves on track?

While the military's policies on gays and lesbians cannot be condoned, barring them from campus is not the proper form of protest. No one is forcing people to stop by these booths. If one doesn't like the military or want to be in the military then they dont' have to stop by the booths, but don't deny the people who may show an interest in the military the chance to find out more about it.