(Lori Piotrowski) – After the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Harvard has finally decided that Naval ROTC will be allowed back on campus. Today Harvard’s President Drew Faust and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus sign the agreement. Harvard and several other Ivy-league universities had banned all ROTC programs and recruiters from their campuses during the Vietnam War—long before DADT became an issue—and then extended that ban when they decided they didn’t like the military’s stance toward homosexuals. Yet, if you were to read the information posted on Harvard’s Web site, you’d think that the rift between the university and the military, which lasted several decades, had never occurred.
Mabus proudly talked about the agreement as if the repeal of DADT played no part in today’s signing:
“NROTC’s return to Harvard is good for the University, good for the military, and good for the country,” said Mabus. “Together, we have made a decision to enrich the experience open to Harvard’s undergraduates, make the military better, and our nation stronger. Because with exposure comes understanding, and through understanding comes strength.”
Furthur proclaiming the university’s dedication to country:
“Harvard has a long and proud tradition of service to the nation,” said Robert D. Reischauer ’63, senior fellow of the Harvard Corporation. “Today’s agreement extends that tradition in ways that will strengthen the important bond between educational opportunity and devotion to the common good.”
Excuse me; I need to go clean my shoes.
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