BGLTSA and HRC Joint Statement

In the wake of The Crimson’s exposé of the Voith campaign’s attempt to buy his way out of this campaign, the BGLSTA and HRC join together to condemn an equally egregious act: directly misleading our two groups. It is disrespectful to our organizations and to the student body, and we will not let it stand.



When we bring candidates to our meetings and ask about their ideas and vision for the Harvard community, the very least we expect is honesty. We neither expect that everyone will agree with us nor that they should. But John Voith’s attempt to pander to our respective organizations by clearly misrepresenting his ticket’s stance on ROTC is both dishonest in principal and harmful in practice. Regardless of who wins this election, and both our organizations agree that it shouldn’t be the Voith-Gadgil ticket, the least Harvard students expect from our next leaders is the backbone to stand up for their beliefs, whatever they actually are. While we understand that nuanced positions can shift over time when new information is obtained by candidates, it is embarrassing and disappointing that Voith and Gadgil completely changed their position literally overnight to appease ideologically differing organizations. Given this fundamental breech of trust, it would be equally embarrassing for the Harvard community to elect John Voith and Tara Gadgil.



The BGLTSA has endorsed Haddock-Riley and the HRC has endorsed Magnus and Tom.



The Facts:



- HRC Questionnaire (Thursday night):

(http://hcs.harvard.edu/~gop//uc.html)

Question: “Currently Harvard ROTC students are actually members of the MIT ROTC group and train there. If the U.S. Military were ask to form a ROTC chapter on the Harvard campus, would you speak up in favor of allowing a chapter, against it, or remain neutral? Why? Also, should the U.S. Military be allowed to recruit students on campus?” Voith-Gadgil’s Answer: “Yes to both questions. Were it not for the bravery and sacrifice of America’s Armed Services, this university would not be here in the first place. We believe that Harvard should actively support students who wish to serve their country in the military. We will support bringing ROTC back to campus, support recruiting on campus, and make a point to pass a UC resolution at the end of the spring semester thanking and congratulating the soon-to-be-commissioned cadets and midshipmen.”



- HRC Endorsement Meeting (Saturday afternoon):

Voith showed unqualified support for ROTC and said that he would co-sponsor a bill the following night, if it were introduced, inviting ROTC back to campus. Not once did he qualify any statement of support for ROTC or so much as mention Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.



- BGLTSA Endorsement Meeting (Sunday night):

Voith unequivocally opposed the presence of ROTC on campus while Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is in place, claiming that their support of ROTC was conditioned upon an end of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.



- HRC GOP-Open Email List (Monday afternoon)

Tara Gadgil voiced strong support for ROTC on campus when asked whether their ticket would support it despite the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.