Harvard president criticizes military's ban on gays

(Mark Wilson/Globe Staff)

Faust speaking at a ROTC commissioning ceremony in Harvard Yard this morning.

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

CAMBRIDGE -- Harvard University President Drew Faust took issue with the military's ban against openly gay and lesbian members in a ROTC commissioning ceremony in Harvard Yard this morning as she commended newly minted military officers for choosing to serve their country.

"The freedoms we enjoy depend vitally on the service you and your forebears have undertaken in our behalf," Faust told an audience of about 200 who saw five Harvard seniors recognized for their training and three officially receive their military appointments. "Indeed, I wish that there were more of you. I believe that every Harvard student should have the opportunity to serve in the military, as you do, and as those honored in the past have done."

Harvard has banned the Reserve Officers' Training Corps from campus since the Vietnam era, a restriction that forces students to train at MIT and that critics contend reflects a broader hostility to the military at the Ivy League institution.

Faust, a military historian who became Harvard's president last July, had previously said she intended to criticize the armed forces' controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which excludes openly gay individuals. The news drew criticism in some circles, most notably a recent opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, for politicizing the ceremony.

In today's speech, Faust did not mention the ban explicitly. But with scholarly understatement, she made clear that the policy was inconsistent with the ideals of universities like Harvard, which she called "places not just where minds can flourish but where hearts are nourished as well – by commitment to the pursuit of truth, to the availability of opportunity based on merit, to the full inclusion of all in our hopes and possibilities.''

And she stressed that her opposition to the ban did not diminish her admiration for military service.

"You have our respect for your choices, our admiration for your commitment, and our deep gratitude for your willingness to confront dangers on the nation’s behalf in the months and years to come," she said.

In 2002, Faust's predecessor, Lawrence Summers, became the first Harvard president since 1969 to address the commissioning ceremony, and was an outspoken proponent of the program. Harvard does not fund the training program, which is supported by an alumni trust.

She alluded to the longstanding Harvard ROTC ban by remarking that graduates have "gone the extra mile – literally – up Mass. Ave. to MIT to complete your training." But she said that Harvard boasts a proud tradition of military service, noting that Harvard during World War I established one of the first ROTC programs in the country and that Harvard Yard contains several memorials to Harvard’s soldiers and officers.

Harvard says it has no plans to change the current ROTC policy.

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