Allow Military Recruiters To Discriminate And Lie On Your Campus Or We'll Do To You Like We Did To Fallujah

Today (it's still before midnight on the Left Coast) the Supreme Court decided unanimously that the Federal government can withhold funding to law schools - any schools really - if military recruiters are not given the same access as any other recruiters. More boldly, Chief Justice Roberts' opinion held that "Congress could require law schools to provide equal access to military recruiters without violating the schools' freedom of speech or association." In other words, beyond simply withholding funds, Congress could require equal access and schools could face even greater penalties. What could these penalties be?

Perhaps the National Guard could be deployed to ensure military recruiters are escorted safely onto campus so that they may mislead potential recruits and falsify documents to circumvent standards normally required of those joining the military. There are parallels to desegration here - for example, the fact that schools might be forced to "take down a sign reading 'White Applicants Only' hardly means that the [Solomon Amendment] should be analyzed as one regulating the [school's] speech rather than conduct," so says the Roberts opinion.

How else might the federal government force schools to provide equal access? I suppose they could provide for criminal penalties. Law school deans could be locked up for not sending out the same email announcement for a military recruiter as they do for an employment rights firm.

Or maybe the Pentagon could decide to declare war on the school and rain cluster bombs down. Lord knows I dreamed for such surprises as I struggled to stay alert in Civil Procedure class.

It is important to note that the Court in this opinion seems to reinforce a statement made by the government in its oral arguments. In parentheses the Court writes: "Solicitor General acknowledges that law schools 'could put signs on the bulletin board next to the door, they could engage in speech, they could help organize student protests'" It is arguing that the Solomon Amendment does not really violate the free speech rights of law schools because they can do all these things to make their opinion clear. Activists need to hold schools to this challenge. Give the recruiters equal access and then help your students organize enormous and effective protests. If the recruiters leave in shame, that's their own business and not a violation of the law.

Finally, and even more imporantly, it should be noted that Brokeback Mountain was robbed. At one point even I spoke fondly of Crash. But give me a break, as good as it was, it was good from the perspective of a made-for-tv movie, not the best motion picture of the year! In time it will be forgotten, but Brokeback will live on as the revolutionary love story that it is.