'About face' for military recruiters on campus: new ruling says schools can't be penalized if they bar recruiters

University Business, Jan, 2005

It has been the rule for 10 years: colleges and universities had to allow military recruiters on campus or jeopardize their federal funding. But now the rule will change. Regarding a case heard in late November, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit voted 2-1 that the law--known as the Solomon Amendment--violated universities' right to free speech under the First Amendment. The suit was filed by a group of New Jersey professors and students.

Harvard Law School (Mass.), which had long barred recruiters on campus, but began allowing them on campus two years ago when the Pentagon cut funding, immediately said it would return to its prior policy. In the past, administrators at Harvard Law School barred military recruiters because it disagreed with the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding gay and lesbian recruits. Other schools, including Columbia University (N.Y.) and Boston University, reportedly were reviewing their policies.

The American Council on Education is urging IHEs to be cautious about their next steps. The government has not yet announced whether it will seek review of the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, or simply enforce the Solomon Amendment outside the Third Circuit, which includes Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, ACE policy observers note.