"Don't Ask Don't Tell" sparks questions and talk
Mark Bychowski
Issue date: 3/1/10 Section: News
"This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are," stated President Obama during his 2010 State of the Union Address.
Since the address, talk has been buzzing around small towns, the capital, and here at DePaul about repealing the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy which allows homosexuals to serve in the military as long as they are not open about their identity.
"Gays and lesbians have long served honorably in the military, so the question is not their ability, but as with blacks and women, fear of the effect upon troops from more traditional backgrounds," explained Ellen Eslinger, History Professor at DePaul. "Internal discord is problematic, but as the precedents have shown, can be effectively dealt with through proper leadership."
"The military establishment resisted both integration and women, yet military strength has not collapsed. The culture was not destroyed but was forced to change," added Eslinger. "The other issue at stake, that I don't see in general circulation, is that military service involves some very important benefits: tuition, medical, home mortgage. Shouldn't all citizens have access to these? And lastly, it costs a bundle to train a pilot. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" doesn't just break careers, it costs American taxpayers big money."
Act-Out, a DePaul student organization for LGBTQ service work and activism discussed the military's restriction against being openly homosexual.
"I will say it helped me get the recruiters off of the phone and my back when they tried to get me," commented Aaron Kornick, a first year Actuarial Science Major at DePaul.
"I feel like queer people have been in the military since it started up. The issue is that they are not able to be visible." Commented Sarah Baran, a first year Art History and Photography major at DePaul. "So whether it goes away or not, there will always be queer people in the armed forces. It's just about whether or not we're willing to give them the freedom to be open."
"I feel like there may be a backlash at first against the people who do come out but then it will hopefully improve," commented Amanda Helms, second year Psychology and Women's study student at DePaul. "I feel like the military will always be hostile to gay people because it is so routed in a need to be masculine but that overtime we can make progress towards acceptance by showing military people that gay people are fighting with them and dying with them for our country just the same as everyone else."
Since the address, talk has been buzzing around small towns, the capital, and here at DePaul about repealing the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy which allows homosexuals to serve in the military as long as they are not open about their identity.
"Gays and lesbians have long served honorably in the military, so the question is not their ability, but as with blacks and women, fear of the effect upon troops from more traditional backgrounds," explained Ellen Eslinger, History Professor at DePaul. "Internal discord is problematic, but as the precedents have shown, can be effectively dealt with through proper leadership."
"The military establishment resisted both integration and women, yet military strength has not collapsed. The culture was not destroyed but was forced to change," added Eslinger. "The other issue at stake, that I don't see in general circulation, is that military service involves some very important benefits: tuition, medical, home mortgage. Shouldn't all citizens have access to these? And lastly, it costs a bundle to train a pilot. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" doesn't just break careers, it costs American taxpayers big money."
Act-Out, a DePaul student organization for LGBTQ service work and activism discussed the military's restriction against being openly homosexual.
"I will say it helped me get the recruiters off of the phone and my back when they tried to get me," commented Aaron Kornick, a first year Actuarial Science Major at DePaul.
"I feel like queer people have been in the military since it started up. The issue is that they are not able to be visible." Commented Sarah Baran, a first year Art History and Photography major at DePaul. "So whether it goes away or not, there will always be queer people in the armed forces. It's just about whether or not we're willing to give them the freedom to be open."
"I feel like there may be a backlash at first against the people who do come out but then it will hopefully improve," commented Amanda Helms, second year Psychology and Women's study student at DePaul. "I feel like the military will always be hostile to gay people because it is so routed in a need to be masculine but that overtime we can make progress towards acceptance by showing military people that gay people are fighting with them and dying with them for our country just the same as everyone else."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Alessandra
posted 3/03/10 @ 1:57 AM CST
http://edition.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/09...
Paul Crane said he lost everything when he was kicked out of the Army after 15 years -- for being 8 pounds overweight. (Continued…)
Lance Coardill
posted 3/06/10 @ 11:16 PM CST
"I will say it helped me get the recruiters off of the phone and my back when they tried to get me," commented Aaron Kornick, a first year Actuarial Science Major at DePaul. (Continued…)
Post a Comment