Cal State Panel Calls for Ban on ROTC Unless Gay Bias Ends

After months of campus turmoil over ROTC programs at Cal State Northridge and other state schools, a California State University faculty group voted Friday to urge the U.S. Defense Department to end discrimination against homosexuals in the armed forces or face efforts to abolish military programs on system campuses.

Under a compromise resolution passed unanimously Friday, the California State University Academic Senate asked the 20 campuses they represent to consider phasing out Reserve Officer Training Corps programs if the military does not reverse its policy barring acknowledged homosexuals from military service by Jan. 1, 1991.

If the schools agree, the faculty group said that they could withdraw faculty status for ROTC instructors, decline to offer academic credit for ROTC programs and refuse to list ROTC programs in course catalogues and other campus publications.

Earlier versions of the statement had called for either waiting until 1992 to ask for sanctions against ROTC or taking immediate action. But academic senators said they wanted to let individual campuses discuss the issue first--a delay criticized by some Northridge students.

To become official university policy, the senate’s resolution must be approved by the CSU Board of Trustees.

The statewide vote followed weeks of debate at Cal State Northridge, where students and faculty had voted to abolish the training programs, only to have their recommendations overturned April 16 by Cal State Northridge President James W. Cleary. Cleary said he based his decision on legal advice that state agencies cannot overrule federal law.

Northridge students who attended the senate meeting Friday in Long Beach called the resolution inadequate, saying the military’s violation of university anti-discrimination policies calls for immediate action.

“To us it does not make sense that a program can exist where there is discrimination,” said Brent Larson, a Northridge junior and a leader of the newly formed Students and Faculty United for Equal Rights.

“It’s not direct enough, not forceful enough,” said senior Desiree Dreeuws, who said she was discharged from the Army last year after telling her superior she was a lesbian. Dreeuws said students would continue to urge Cleary to reverse his stance.

Currently, 42 Northridge students participate in Air Force, Army and Navy ROTC programs, some of them cross-enrolling at UCLA for the required military training classes. Although those who are openly homosexual may enroll in the ROTC classes, they may not receive military scholarships or accept officer commissions after graduation.

The Pentagon argues that accepting open homosexuals would adversely affect “the ability of the military services to maintain discipline, good order, and morale” and to “foster mutual trust and confidence among service members.”

Faculty senators said that insisting ROTC be abolished immediately would not give the military time to respond and stifle campus discussion. After the resignation of CSU Chancellor W. Ann Reynolds on April 20, members of the Academic Senate and the CSU Board of Trustees indicated they wanted the universities to become more independent.

“I understand your impatience,” said Lester Pincu, a senator from Fresno State University. “ . . . But the point of this resolution and the point of this body is to make changes, not just make a statement.”