Move to Lift Restrictions on Student Aid Applauded by the ACLU

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 16, 1999

WASHINGTON–The American Civil Liberties Union applauded legislation introduced today that would lift a ban on financial aid to students attending schools that bar military recruiting.

Many colleges and universities ban on-campus recruiting by organizations that have discriminatory hiring policies. The military, which in recent years has kicked out record numbers of gays and lesbians, violates many schools’ non-discrimination policies.

“The federal government should not be in the business of undermining local efforts to stop discrimination,” said Christopher Anders, a legislative counsel with the ACLU. “Current law perverts the government’s traditional role of safeguarding civil rights into a role that undermines civil rights.”

The legislation, introduced by Representatives Barney Frank (D-MA) and Tom Campbell (R-CA), would partially repeal a law that denies federal funds to colleges and universities that, because of their non-discrimination policies, do not allow the military to recruit on campus. The Frank-Campbell bill will only repeal the portion of the law that denies financial aid to students.

The law currently affects students attending the colleges and universities across the country that have been forced to dishonor their commitment to fairness for all of their students – regardless of financial status or sexual orientation.