ROTC May Be Welcomed Back To Stanford After 'Don't Ask' Repeal

PALO ALTO (KCBS) - Now that the president has signed the repeal of the military's ban on openly gay service personnel, colleges nationwide may be reconsidering their affiliations with Reserve Officer Training Corps, or ROTC. Stanford, for one, is already in the middle of looking at possibly bringing back ROTC to campus.

KCBS' Holly Quan Reports:

Stanford booted ROTC in 1973, not because of politics, but because it was thought that the courses didn't meet university standards. But the military's ban on openly gay enlistees was one big reason why campuses refused to bring it back. Now that's no longer an issue.

Ewart Thomas is a psychology professor chairing a faculty Senate committee charged with looking at the possible return of ROTC.

"You have people pointing to institutional discrimination in the US Military, and they are arguing that this discrimination is likely to persist after the Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal," said Thomas. "So if you have an institution that is discriminating, why would Stanford increase its association with such an institution?"

A final decision isn't expected until spring, but other schools may take up the issue as well.

"College students today have all come of age after September 11th, in a very pro-defense time of our history," said Diane Mazur, a University of Florida law professor specializing in the civilian/military relationships. "And I think that if you ask college students today the large majority of them would be very interested in having a closer relationship with ROTC."

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