Law school protests are going all retro — it’s like 90s all over again because of President Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in the military.
Back in the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” days, law schools that allowed the military’s Judge Advocate General’s office to recruit on campus often saw law students protest the discriminatory policy. In response, many law schools stopped allowing JAG on campus, since prohibiting open gay and lesbian individuals from serving in the military violated their non-discrimination policies. Then, in 1996, the Solomon Amendment was passed, which conditioned federal funding on allowing military recruiters to have access to campuses. Only two law schools, Vermont Law School and William Mitchell College of Law (which has since merged with Hamline University School of Law), sacrificed federal money to continue the ban as long as “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” was the military’s official policy.
The discriminatory military trans ban — which the Supreme Court recently refused to enjoin — has brought these same issues back to law school campuses.
Yesterday, the Boston University School of Law OutLaw chapter — the law school’s LGBTQ+ student organization — organized a protest against the school for allowing JAG to participate in a networking event for students interested in public service. OutLaw was joined by 22 other student organizations in its objection to the military’s ban on transgender individuals and the law school’s adherence to the Solomon Amendment.
The BU Law Student Veteran’s Association also issued a statement in opposition to the trans ban and in support of those who chose to protest JAG on campus, though obviously they have a different perspective on the issue:
The BU Law Student Veteran’s Association encourages public service and supports those who currently serve to protect the principles which make our country free, while opposing the transgender discriminatory policy. Only by encouraging service and supporting those who serve can we truly aid those servicemembers trapped in a world motivated by political bigotry rather than sound policy. This policy is not in accordance with our values of inclusion and respect and is denounced by the BU Law Student Veteran’s Association. We hope that this will encourage all those feeling strongly on this issue to engage in discussion and, together as a community, we can eliminate hateful and discriminatory policies and ensure everyone has a place in our military.
In a statement, BU Law Dean Angela Onwuachi-Willig acknowledged that the military’s prohibition on transgender service members was in contradiction to the school’s values. However, Dean Onwuach-Willig ultimately decided to allow the JAG recruiters to participate in the BU event due to concerns any other course of action would cost the school federal funding:
On Monday, February 11, we are hosting a networking event for students interested in public service, at which JAG attorneys representing branches of the US military are scheduled to participate. Let me be clear: The new federal ban on transgender military service is in direct conflict with our values, and the presence of JAG attorneys at this event is indeed inconsistent with our non-discrimination policy.
Since the Supreme Court granted the administration’s request last month, I have been engaged in conversations with members of my senior leadership team in order to give the matter the thorough consideration it deserves. With this in mind, I write you today to explain my decision to suspend the application of this policy to military recruiters and allow them to participate in events of this kind.
The Solomon Amendment, a federal law first passed in 1996, prohibits a university from receiving federal funding if it prevents members of the military from recruiting on its campus. This means barring JAG attorneys from such activities may jeopardize all federal funds that Boston University receives, including those which support student financial aid and various forms of research. Loss of this funding could potentially have a direct impact on many BU Law students, the majority of whom receive some form of federal financial aid, not to mention other students at the University. Despite our unwavering commitment to diversity and inclusion, it would be irresponsible of us to put the entire University at risk of losing federal funding. For this reason alone, I have made the difficult decision to issue this exception to our policy.
You can read the letters from OutLaw and the Student Veteran’s Association below.
Students Protest Law School For Inviting Military Recruiters On Campus curated from Above the Law
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