Recruiter Ban: The Resolution

Relevant to the earlier post about kicking recruiters out of Reid Campus Center, I thought I'd post this resolution I wrote this week. I'm still working on a title for it, so throw one out there if you have an idea. Here it goes:

WHEREAS the United States Armed Forces is in the regular practice of stationing personnel at tables in the foyer of the Reid Campus Center during periods of high-traffic through that chamber for the purpose of recruiting Whitman College students to serve in the nation's Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Reserves or other such departments;

WHEREAS these same recruiters have also held tables at job fairs of the College for the purpose of actively pursuing the attainment of Whitman College students into the ranks of the Armed Forces;

WHEREAS the United States Military and associated agencies not limited to but including the Department of Defense maintain a policy expressly forbidding the service of openly gay, transgendered, lesbian or bisexual individuals in such departments;

WHEREAS such practice as listed above is discriminatory on the basis of sexual orientation;

WHEREAS the Reid Campus Center's mission statement is to 'Serve as a gathering place for students, staff, faculty, alumni, and friends of Whitman College';

WHEREAS the Associated Students of Whitman College is charged with the duty of creating and celebrating student public space in the Reid Campus Center and throughout the College by providing programming and advocacy in the students' interest;

WHEREAS the Reid Campus Center replaced the historic Student Union Building and in so doing must serve the same interest of the student public as its predecessor;
WHEREAS Section One of Article VII of the Constitution of the Associated Students of Whitman College guarantees that the rights enjoyed by its members must not be denied on the basis of, not limited to, but including sexual orientation;

THEREFORE, be it Resolved by the Senate of the Associated Students of Whitman College that:

(1) All personnel representing a department of the United States Armed Forces or the Department of Defense are prohibited from engaging in recruitment activity for related agencies and departments, for either active or non-active duty, on the premises of the Reid Campus Center;

(2) All promotional material consisting in or related to recruitment for departments of the Armed Forces made available for wide dissemination to students by such personnel must be located within the Career Center of the Reid Campus Center and not in any other area of the premises;

(3) The prohibitions enumerated in sections (1) and (2) of this Resolution are to take effect on the first day of the month immediately succeeding the passage of this Resolution and are conditional upon the continued maintenance and enforcement of the practice of the United States Military to discriminate against those of a non-heterosexual orientation for service within its ranks.

(4) The Director and staff of the Reid Campus Center are requested to enforce this prohibition and its conditions in consultation with the Executive Council of the Associated Students of Whitman College.

Look for this to be introduced this September and for recruiters to be out of the RCC by spring! And don't forget to let me know what you think.