From the WSJ
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The Grove and Academe
Liberal law schools want to defy federal policy while taking federal money.
Friday, September 26, 2003 12:01 a.m.
Don't ask, don't tell. That's the policy toward homosexuals, instituted during the Clinton administration, that has made the U.S. military unwelcome on many of our nation's campuses. It's also behind a federal lawsuit just filed against the Defense Department by an organization of law schools and legal scholars. The organization says that don't-ask-don't-tell conflicts with the antidiscrimination codes on most campuses and that these campuses should thus be able to keep military recruiters out.
The catch is that the schools want to do this while keeping the millions they also get in federal money.
It's interesting that a group standing so loudly on principle is following its own version of don't-ask-don't-tell: It won't tell us which law schools are involved in the suit. The schools' involvement comes via a front group called the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights headed by a Boston College law professor. Their target is the Solomon Amendment, which requires schools receiving federal funds to provide equal access to military recruiters. The suit says the amendment is "not the American way."
Don't get us wrong. We're happy to see professors discovering that one danger of accepting federal money is the strings that come attached. But we don't recall their coming to the aid of tiny Grove City College in 1977 when it refused to sign a paper saying it would abide by Title IX language on gender. This Christian school in Pennsylvania argued that because it accepted no federal money it was not subject to federal interference.
But the government argued that because some of its students received federal grants, the federal government could indeed tell it what to do. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court. In 1984 the court ruled largely for the school, admitting that the federal aid did provide an avenue for regulation but saying that the government couldn't regulate the whole school just because one department (in this case admissions) accepted federal dollars.
That didn't sit well with liberals. Led by Sen. Ted Kennedy, they fought for legislation, ultimately passed over Ronald Reagan's veto, that changed the law. The result was to give the government much broader regulatory power as a result of federal funding. The upshot was that if, say, a Grove City student accepted any federal financial aid, the whole school would indeed be subject to federal regulations.
So what's a school to do when faced with government money whose conditions conflict with its core principles? Well, here's what the Grove City College Web site says about how it handled the issue: "The College went to court over Title IX and its requirements. As part of the outcome, our student aid department became the entry point for federal control. As a result, we forbade our students from accepting Pell Grants."
In other words, when this Christian David lost to the federal Goliath, it decided that its principles were worth more than the federal money. Do any of the schools and professors now arguing for their right to discriminate against the military have the integrity to do the same?
Copyright © 2003 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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----------------------------
The Grove and Academe
Liberal law schools want to defy federal policy while taking federal money.
Friday, September 26, 2003 12:01 a.m.
Don't ask, don't tell. That's the policy toward homosexuals, instituted during the Clinton administration, that has made the U.S. military unwelcome on many of our nation's campuses. It's also behind a federal lawsuit just filed against the Defense Department by an organization of law schools and legal scholars. The organization says that don't-ask-don't-tell conflicts with the antidiscrimination codes on most campuses and that these campuses should thus be able to keep military recruiters out.
The catch is that the schools want to do this while keeping the millions they also get in federal money.
It's interesting that a group standing so loudly on principle is following its own version of don't-ask-don't-tell: It won't tell us which law schools are involved in the suit. The schools' involvement comes via a front group called the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights headed by a Boston College law professor. Their target is the Solomon Amendment, which requires schools receiving federal funds to provide equal access to military recruiters. The suit says the amendment is "not the American way."
Don't get us wrong. We're happy to see professors discovering that one danger of accepting federal money is the strings that come attached. But we don't recall their coming to the aid of tiny Grove City College in 1977 when it refused to sign a paper saying it would abide by Title IX language on gender. This Christian school in Pennsylvania argued that because it accepted no federal money it was not subject to federal interference.
But the government argued that because some of its students received federal grants, the federal government could indeed tell it what to do. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court. In 1984 the court ruled largely for the school, admitting that the federal aid did provide an avenue for regulation but saying that the government couldn't regulate the whole school just because one department (in this case admissions) accepted federal dollars.
That didn't sit well with liberals. Led by Sen. Ted Kennedy, they fought for legislation, ultimately passed over Ronald Reagan's veto, that changed the law. The result was to give the government much broader regulatory power as a result of federal funding. The upshot was that if, say, a Grove City student accepted any federal financial aid, the whole school would indeed be subject to federal regulations.
So what's a school to do when faced with government money whose conditions conflict with its core principles? Well, here's what the Grove City College Web site says about how it handled the issue: "The College went to court over Title IX and its requirements. As part of the outcome, our student aid department became the entry point for federal control. As a result, we forbade our students from accepting Pell Grants."
In other words, when this Christian David lost to the federal Goliath, it decided that its principles were worth more than the federal money. Do any of the schools and professors now arguing for their right to discriminate against the military have the integrity to do the same?
Copyright © 2003 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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