Match ROTC Funding With Principles

To the editors:

This letter is in response to President Summers exploring the possibility of funding the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), as described in “ROTC Funding Raises Concern” (News, Jan. 18).

To fund ROTC would be bad. It would support a group which discriminates based on something which study after study has demonstrated has no bearing on personal performance or unit effectiveness. At the very least, such discrimination violates Harvard’s principles.

However, should Harvard decide to fund ROTC, it ought to donate matching funds to the Servicemembers’ Legal Defense Network (SLDN), a group which helps to fight “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and which defends men and women in uniform who are discharged under that policy.

Such an arrangement would represent a dedication by the University to the idea that all Harvard students (and, moreover, all physically capable U.S. citizens) ought to be able to serve their country. This notion of inclusion in service is, in fact, the very sentiment that underlies the issue of ROTC funding. Therefore, should the University choose to extend funding, it ought either to fight “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” by lobbying the Department of Defense and Congress, or it should fund a group that will.

Clifford S. Davidson ’02

Jan. 18, 2002