Introducing the RUDE Act!

I thought, in the interest of full disclosure from public officials and whatnot, that I'd post the content of an email I sent out to two of my favorite clubs on campus promoting the recruiter resolution. The listservs of these groups, the Peace Coalition and Whitman Civil Liberties Union, received the message earlier today, and I've gotten a couple of positive responses back; hopefully more will come throughout the day. Feel free to post criticisms and suggestions in the comments section as you wish; they'll certainly all be very helpful.

Fellow Peaceworkers and Civil Libertarians,

I don't know how many of you read the Oregon Peaceworker, but in this summer's issue there was an article about Southern Oregon University (SOU) passing a resolution to ban military recruiters from engaging in their business on campus and in the student union building. I liked what I saw, so I researched more and saw that other colleges like Harvard Law, UC Berkeley and City College of New York have also taken this measure.

I am one for comparative college politics, and I've taken the time to write a Whitman-specific resolution to drive those pesky Marines that show up on campus sporadically back to Blue Mountain Mall where they came from (not that they were successful at Whitman in the first place). The reason to give 'em the boot is simple: the Reid Campus Center (where they typically prey on jobless Whitties) is essentially the Student Union Building, or it can be argued that Reid takes on the responsibilites of the SUB as it replaces the building. As the student union, ASWC should take steps to make Reid the building for student space, and an essential first step is putting Reid in line with the most fundamental of ASWC rules.

As long as the military continues to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, it will contradict the nondiscrimination guarantee of the ASWC constitution. This is the time to show not only that the ASWC constitution is meaningful and essential to our student government, but also that ASWC can have authority and a say over the policies of Reid Campus Center to create and maintain a student-run public space for organizing and mobilizing.

The full resolution is at the bottom of this email and is also available at my blog, http://senatorpowers.blogspot.org/, where you can make comments and start a dialogue on this important issue. I hope you'll take the time to read the resolution and give me some input, either about your general opinions on the matter at hand or on language that should be reworked or included in the text.

Enjoy the rest of the summer and get ready for a politically active fall!

I've tentatively titled this resolution the 'Restricting Unjust and Discriminatory Employers Act' with a U.S. Congress-style title so it can be shortened to the catchy and apt acronym 'RUDE Act'. It may be impolite to ask the military to leave, but it's certainly beyond reproach and downright rude for the military to ban gay employees. What do you do with a rude guest? You ask them to leave.

On a side note, some of you may be interested to know that federal courts are considering the constitutionality of the Solomon Amendment, which restricts federal funding from schools that refuse to allow recruiters on campus. Currently, the amendment was last overturned by the Third Circuit Appeals Court and it may go to the Supreme Court next session, where incoming John Roberts would be a factor if he is confirmed this fall. For those who are interested in his views on this law, check out Jeffrey Toobin's article in the New Yorker.