Oracle Online

A group of universities and law schools known as the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (FAIR) recently prevailed in a Third Circuit Court decision declaring the Solomon Amendment unconstitutional. Inaccurate reporting has suggested that the court’s decision would be limited to the third circuit; in order to provide full relief for all the plaintiffs involved, the final ruling would have extended beyond the circuit’s geographical boundaries. Currently, however, the Solomon Amendment is still in effect, pending an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Why is it then that Harvard and Yale, which reside in the first and second districts, respectively, have responded to the third circuit’s ruling by reinstating nondiscrimination standards for recruiters that had at one time violated the Solomon Amendment? Why would two prominent law schools risk hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding if, as our administrators have claimed, the current issues rest primarily on fiscal responsibility?

According to the Feb. 7 edition of the Harvard Crimson: “With [Judge] Ambro’s decision to stay the Third Circuit’s ruling, Harvard could at least theoretically face repercussions from the federal government for barring military recruiters from campus.”

Do Harvard administrators know something that Hamline administrators do not? Truth be told, the government has never withheld funding from a school that violated the Solomon Amendment. In every case, the school in question was provided due process: a written warning and a time period in which to correct the violation. In these matters, Harvard administrators and faculty have consistently acted on principle and defended the school’s policies through litigation and multiple public statements denouncing the Solomon Amendment.

At this important moment in history, when human rights and basic principles of justice are under increasing attack, Hamline students and faculty deserve more from their administrators than regurgitation of popular media and vacuous arguments pertaining to fiscal responsibility. Based upon previous challenges to the Solomon Amendment, Hamline would not be without recourse should it once again choose to enforce its nondiscrimination policy.

In addition, or alternatively, the university should join the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (FAIR). Joining FAIR does not involve financial obligations or responsibilities in litigation, nor does it require the university to change any of its existing policies.

Joining FAIR would, however, send a strong public message of our unwavering adherence to our mission of creating “a diverse and collaborative community of learners” and our core “commitment to making the world a better place.” For in-depth information on FAIR and the Solomon Amendment, and to sign petitions in support of Hamline enforcing its nondiscrimination policy and/or joining FAIR, please visit:

http://www.geocities.com/justiceleagueaction

Colin Schumacher
CLA Senior