Harvard About-Face on ROTC on Campus, Brown Next?

Harvard About-Face on ROTC on Campus, Brown Next?

Harvard University has done an about face on their position relating to ROTC - as a result of the repeal by Congress of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gays and lesbians in the US military, Harvard's President Drew Faust said in a statement released on Monday.

The change at Harvard, may have an affect on Brown, which banned Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) in response to the Vietnam War.  

According to Brown's Administration, "Brown students may join the Patriot Battalion Army ROTC at Providence College, located in north Providence. Credits earned in ROTC programs do not transfer back to Brown." The PC program can be reviewed.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Brown and Harvard are not the only Ivy schools to have banned ROTC from their campuses. At one point after the Vietnam War five of the eight Ivy schools had banned the program.

Harvard's President Faust wrote:

"The repeal of DADT is a historic step. It affirms American ideals of equal opportunity and underscores the importance of the right to military service as a fundamental dimension of citizenship. It was no accident that Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation not only guaranteed freedom to Black Americans but at the same time opened the Union Army to their participation. Because of today's action by the Senate, gay and lesbian Americans will now also have the right to pursue this honorable calling, and we as a nation will have the benefit of their service.

I look forward to pursuing discussions with military officials and others to achieve Harvard's full and formal recognition of ROTC. I am very pleased that more students will now have the opportunity to serve their country. I am grateful to the Massachusetts delegation for their unified support for repeal."