'Recruiters' fails logic, sense
Joel Gehrke
Issue date: 1/29/09 Section: Opinion
Last week's Collegian featured an opinion piece by Jake Morgan entitled "Discriminatory recruiters defy college mission." Mr. Morgan's bases his argument on a false premise, and so fails.
Essentially, Mr. Morgan claims that Hillsdale College does not accept government funding and is "anti-government." Therefore, Mr. Morgan argues, the college ought not allow military recruiters to visit our college in their official capacity, claiming that military presence on campus "serves as a de facto reminder of government autocracy." Moreover, the author continues, the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as Hillsdale's own anti-discrimination policies. The article closes with a ringing call to "push the invaders from our shores" - that is, prohibit military recruiting on campus in order that we might not be "bound with the chains of militarism and shackled to the totem of discrimination," as Mr. Morgan put it.
I think maybe Mr. Morgan is mistaken about those amendments and the nature of Hillsdale College. I am not a constitutional expert. I am a sophomore undergraduate. I am trying to understand how the terms of service agreed to by military personnel - service, after all, is voluntary - constitutes a heinous breach of constitutional rights. After reading the language, I do not know how the First Amendment, for instance applies to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." This military policy does not infringe upon freedom of the press. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" does not establish a state religion. Neither does it impede anyone's right to assemble, or to petition the government, or to freedom of speech - surely no more than any other confidentiality agreement.
Any argument involving the Fourteenth Amendment is more complicated. Perhaps Mr. Morgan thinks "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" violates the aptly named Privileges or Immunities clause, which guarantees the rights of citizenry to all citizens. The clause affirms that "no State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." The question of whether an openly practicing homosexual can serve in the military falls outside the purview of the Privileges or Immunites clause. No intellectually honest person can argue that military service is a constitutional right. Likewise, it is not a constitutional right to serve in the CIA or the FBI.
Essentially, Mr. Morgan claims that Hillsdale College does not accept government funding and is "anti-government." Therefore, Mr. Morgan argues, the college ought not allow military recruiters to visit our college in their official capacity, claiming that military presence on campus "serves as a de facto reminder of government autocracy." Moreover, the author continues, the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as Hillsdale's own anti-discrimination policies. The article closes with a ringing call to "push the invaders from our shores" - that is, prohibit military recruiting on campus in order that we might not be "bound with the chains of militarism and shackled to the totem of discrimination," as Mr. Morgan put it.
I think maybe Mr. Morgan is mistaken about those amendments and the nature of Hillsdale College. I am not a constitutional expert. I am a sophomore undergraduate. I am trying to understand how the terms of service agreed to by military personnel - service, after all, is voluntary - constitutes a heinous breach of constitutional rights. After reading the language, I do not know how the First Amendment, for instance applies to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." This military policy does not infringe upon freedom of the press. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" does not establish a state religion. Neither does it impede anyone's right to assemble, or to petition the government, or to freedom of speech - surely no more than any other confidentiality agreement.
Any argument involving the Fourteenth Amendment is more complicated. Perhaps Mr. Morgan thinks "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" violates the aptly named Privileges or Immunities clause, which guarantees the rights of citizenry to all citizens. The clause affirms that "no State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." The question of whether an openly practicing homosexual can serve in the military falls outside the purview of the Privileges or Immunites clause. No intellectually honest person can argue that military service is a constitutional right. Likewise, it is not a constitutional right to serve in the CIA or the FBI.
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