Supreme Court Upholds Campus Military Recruiting

N.Y. Times: WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court ruled today, 8 to 0, that colleges and universities that accept federal money must allow military recruiters on campus, even if people in the academic community deplore the Pentagon’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gay people.

Ending a decade-long battle in favor of the Defense Department, the court rejected the argument of law school faculty members that being forced to associate with military recruiters violated their First Amendment rights to free speech and association.

“Law schools ‘associate’ with military recruiters in the sense that they interact with them, but recruiters are not part of the school,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote for the court. “Students and faculty are free to associate to voice their disapproval of the military’s message.”

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From indybay.org

Opponents of military recruiting on campuses picket San Francisco’s main military recruiting center in this photo from last year. On March 6, 2006, the Supreme Court ruled 8 to 0 that colleges and universities that accept federal money must allow military recruiters on campus.