Let Law Schools Decide

Sometimes in the next few weeks, Reps Barney Frank '61-'62 (D-Newton) and Thomas J. Campbell (R-Calif.) will introduce legislation to overturn a part of a federal law denying funding to law schools that prohibit military recruitment on campus because of the military's policy on gays.

The current law, passed last year as the "Solomon Amendment," allows the government to withhold federal grants, like Stafford Loans and Pell Grants, to law schools that don't comply. The law has put law schools across the country in a predicament: stand by their principles and risk losing federal dollars, or open their campuses to an employer that discriminates against many of their students.

This should not have to be a problem. Law schools are perfectly within their rights to keep discriminatory employers off campus and it is inappropriate for the government to blackmail law school into lending their support to such discrimination. If the Pentagon is interested in recruiting graduates of top law schools, maybe it should look into changing its won "don't ask, don't tell" policy, instead of trying to force universities to compromise their principles.

Harvard Law School (HLS) has not been affected by the Solomon Amendment and would not be directly affected by the proposed Campbell-Frank amendment. Military recruiters are not completely banned from campus--though they are prohibited from using HLS' career center--and the Pentagon was apparently satisfied with HLS' policies when it reviewed them last year.

Still, Harvard should take a lead role in pressing for the change. As we saw last May during debate over the Riggs amendment, which would have stripped funds from colleges and universities with affirmative action programs. Harvard can wield considerable influence in Washington. Pushing for an end to a law that penalizes law schools for following their consciences would be another good use of that prestige.