Membership in the Big Ten may benefit Penn State students seeking to add a sexual orientation clause to the University's anti-discrimination clause and pressuring the U.S. Department of Defense to change its policy on the service of gay men and lesbians.
"The other Big Ten schools have paved the way for us to be a more diverse University and . . . for us to say you can do this without getting sued," said James Marino, executive assistant for the Undergraduate Student Government.
The University has stated a fear of lawsuits as its reason for not adding a clause prohibiting discrimination against gay men and lesbians.
If Penn State were to add such a clause to its policy, it might be able to join with a number of universities protesting the Department of Defense's policy which prohibits gay men and lesbians from service and therefore from participation in ROTC programs during their junior and senior years, said Mike LaFlam, political co-director of Penn State's Lesbian and Gay Student Alliance.
Until it comes time to sign a contract, gay men and lesbians can take ROTC classes.
Student leaders at the University of Iowa are currently attempting to recruit other Big Ten student organizations to pressure the defense department to change its policy or remove ROTC programs from university campuses in the next five years, the Associated Press reported yesterday. The Big Ten Student Association is scheduled to meet here next weekend.
The association, however, is an apolitical organization and cannot make a blanket statement for all of its student government members.
Iowa's anti-discrimination clause protects gay men and lesbians.
"ROTC doesn't violate anything at this University," LaFlam said. "The University says that you can discriminate against gay men and lesbian women legally. And that's what ROTC does."
But ROTC policies are the result of American society at large, said Lt. Col. Kurt Schatz, head of the Army ROTC department at the University.
"Our society doesn't feel that homosexuals should be in the military," Schatz said.
Although a concern, the policy has not caused any problems with the Army ROTC programs here, he said.
But Penn State is behind other Big Ten universities in civil rights issues, LaFlam said.
"Until they realize they're an embarrassment to the Big Ten in human rights issues, they're not going to take any action," he said. "When we stick out like a sore thumb, maybe then things will change."
University President Bryce Jordan said yesterday that any decision to change the University's anti-discrimination policy should be left to his successor. Jordan is scheduled to retire Aug. 31, but may stay on longer if a new president is not named by that date.
However, Jordan believes that the University's policy will not change before the Department of Defense policy changes.
"I think there is going to be moves coming out of the Pentagon and we're probably going to wait for them to move first," Jordan said.
