DADT Repeal Ends Struggle Between Yale And Dept Of Defense

The end of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ closes the door on a long struggle between Yale University and the U.S. Department of Defense. It could also open a new chapter for the ROTC at Yale.  

In 2003, faculty members at Yale Law School filed suit against the U.S. Department of Justice over the Pentagon’s on-campus recruitment polices.  The Department of Defense had threatened to cut off more than 300 million dollars in federal funds to Yale unless the school helped military recruiters recruit.  Yale resisted, because the military wouldn’t agree to the school’s non-discrimination policy.  Don’t Ask Don’t Tell banned gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.  Yale lost its case in federal court. 

Law Professor Robert Burt was the lead plaintiff. "We’ve been in a very uncomfortable position, forced to act against our principle at the Law School.  And now the end of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell will mean that our principles can once again be in harmony and our wish to honor the norms of equality are once again permitted to us."

The end of the military ban may also make it easier for the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps to return to campus. Sophomore James Campbell is Yale’s only Army ROTC cadet. "There have been a lot of groups on campus that have said that they would not support an ROTC unit in any form as long as Don’t Ask Don’t Tell remained in place. And I think removing a major objection like that really is one of the steps for the stars to align for ROTC to come back to campus."

Yale has not had an ROTC program on campus since the late 1960's. Students have to travel to satellite programs at other college campuses.   

For WNPR, I'm Diane Orson.