opinion_
FBI case prompts look
at all recruiters
The most intriguing aspect of the University
law school’s deferred recruiting by the Federal
Bureau of Investigation for possible hiring viola
tions of the University’s non-discrimination policy,
is the far-reaching ramifications on unquestioned
recruiters and established programs it wiii prompt
The outcome for the University — and other
state institutions — regarding access for dis
criminatory agencies, of which the FBI may be
one, is but the tip of the proverbial iceberg That
iceberg consists of recruiters as frozen as the
armed forces and the ROTC program, and as fluid
as the small businesses that have few occasions
to use the University’s placement center
In this specific instance of the law school and
the FBI, the Emerald applauds the prudence of
Dean Bell for demanding clarification of that
agency's hiring practices regarding homosexuals
We further applaud his action to defer the recruit
ing visit by the FBI until the matter is satisfactorily
resolved
It is ridiculous to assume, as suggested in
other media, that deferring FBI recruiting
presumes the agency guilty of discrimination
based on sexual orientation The FBI themselves
have made public statements which clarifies their
position They maintain hiring homosexuals is a
risk because homosexuals are more vulnerable to
compromise — which threatens national security
if, as agents, they handle sensitive material
To argue the case is imperative even though
the FBI has not replied in specific to Dean Bell's
inquiry We have all seen the spy movies of the
compromised homosexual The hiring policy, if
discriminatory, presumes a homosexual man or
woman is unable to conduct themselves in a
professional, ethical manner regarding their work
Does the FBI prefer hiring licentious heterosex
uals who can be as easily compromised?
It’s a particular oddity, and indicative of this
obsessive Freudian age, that employment
judgements are based foremost on a person s
sexual orientation, rather than their professional
capabilities
How will this affect recruiters such as the
armed forces and programs like ROTC?
Say something
Like Maggie Lear, "I’m not sure this is
indicative of the trend in education here
at the University, But I feel this situation
(her letter, No comment. Oct 13) is at
least worth mentioning' again
Lear seems surprised and apparently
dismayed that her International
Relations instructor was unwilling to
comment on the assassination of Anwar
Sadat at 9:30 am. Oct 11.1 was listen
ing to the radio at approximately the
same moment and it was clear from that
broadcast that nothing was known (for
sure) beyond the fact Sadat had been
attacked Given this lack of information, I
personally feel a ‘‘no comment”
response was in order Had I been con
ducting a class at that moment, I too
would have deferred comment
The trend in education which worries
me is Lear's unstated assumption that a
professor should produce an authorita
tive instant analysis of one of the world's
most complex situations with virtually no
information at hand This is not the role
of academic scholarship and I would
argue this assumption is antithetical to
reasoned judgement There are those
who must respond quickly (national
leaders, for example) but I hope that Lear
took note that there was no official U S
response at 9:30 a m
Only electronic journalists succumbed
to the pressure to "say something" even
though they had nothing to say at that
hour. If Lear would take the time to
reread the information that became
available over the next ten days, I'm sure
she would realize how important the
unknown facts would have been to an
[.^assessment of the situation Without
knowing who attacked Sadat, with that
degree of success, and for what stated
reasons, it would be foolish to go beyond
an expression of shock
Apparently Lear would have the
University behave like television instant
analyses with the story wrapped up in 90
seconds Fortunately for Lear, and all of
us, the University doesn't work that way
Jerry F. Medler
Political Science
Misquote
I am writing in regards to Dane
Claussen's story on the Inter-fraternity
Council Tribunal hearing concerning
Sigma Phi Epsilon’s Rush violation
Claussen misquoted Pres Todd
Ruberg on his comment about the illegal
Rush invitation Ruberg did not claim
that the Rush invitation was "poorly
worded," Rather, he claimed the
invitation was due to a communications
inconsistency between President's
Council and the meeting of Rush
Chairmen on Monday, Sept 21
Sigma Phi Epsilon was guilty of a Rush
violation, but I feel that it is only fair to
Ruberg to define and clarify his defense
accurately
Kelly DeLacy
Tribunal member
Pres., Phi Delta Theta
Fa la la la
The Young Americans for Freedom
With a name like that one would have to
conclude they stand for all the social
This case should invoke a review of hiring
practices of recruiters and programs to ensure
they adhere to the University's affirmative action
policy And frankly, even the most myopic can tell
at a glance that a large number of those recruiters
and programs can’t stand up to the scrutiny It's
not double-vision that obscures the fact dis
criminatory and other-than-neutral agencies
(neutrality being the University’s ideal according
to Pres Paul Olum) are encouraged to recruit and
station programs on campus
The University's affirmative action policy
prohibits on-campus recruiting by employers who
discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion,
handicap, national origin or extraneous con
sideration not directly related to effective job
performance
The "extraneous considerations” clause is
the crux of the law school and FBI case This
clause is explicit in its inclusion of homosexuals —
although, as an example, it provides equal
protection as well for people who've been institu
tionalized for mental disorders or served time in
prison
The clause, and the entire affirmative action
policy, protects every student and is probably one
of the most important criteria ensuring equal
treatment for this University
One student had the courage to contest the
FBI's hiring practices This one voice will make
certain an agency that may discriminate will not be
sanctioned to practice discrimination — whether
quasi-legal or not — on University grounds
But this case should be viewed as the first of
many It's time to take a hard look at other
recruiters and programs who have access to the
campus to police them for discriminatory
practices
** *t.. *+ **»
RlOWiP OF ARABIA
virtues which make a society truly
democratic such as freedom of speech
and opposition to coercive violence
Other people disagree and think YAFers
are nothing more than armchair patriots
willing to defend the country with the Iasi
drop of someone elses blood
I think the following ditty taken from
the YAF songbook very cogently il
lustrated the YAF philosophy The song,
rendered to the tune of "Deck the Halls
with Boughs of Holly," is
Deck the halls with Commie corpses,
Fa la la la la la la la la
Tis the time to be remorseless
Fa la la la la la la la la
Wield we now our sharp stiletti
Fa la la la la la la la la
Carve the pinks into confetti
Fa la la la la la la la la
David Isenberg
Senior, International Studies
Shallowness
Once again the shallowness of some
Emerald editorials becomes apparent
The Emerald went into a tirade Oct 15
about the wasted time and "attempt at
rewriting history" in a California court
regarding the Holocaust The editorial
implied that the case was an attempt to
disprove the Holocaust and waste the
court s time Nothing could be more
wrong The Mermelstein case was a
breach-of-contract suit wherein the In
stitute of Historical Review failed to fulfill
its promise of a $50,000 reward to
anyone who could prove that the Holo
caust existed Mel Mermelstein had to
prove that he indeed had the evidence
and that the IHR was obligated to pay
Plain and simple There was no rewri
ting of history" only contract
enforcement and the fear of "the
crucifixion of Christ being judicially
reviewed" is silly
The editorial talks about paying the
prosecution when the writer surely
knows there is none in a civil case The
tirade goes on against lawyers who
never work for free " Lawyers often
work for free or on a contingency basis
The Emerald irrelevently rages against
lawyers "more concerned with fees than
a speedy judiciary" but offers little as
proof
The final question asked by the editor
ial is who benefitted from the case Ob
viously the plaintiff to the tune of
$50,000 I suggest the Emerald spend
some time thinking before a knee-jerk
reaction puts its foot in its editorial
mouth
Richard E. Gray
Graduate, Political Science
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