A recent U.S. Supreme Court case has propelled the issue of military recruitment on university campuses, an ongoing controversy at UW-Madison, onto a national stage.
A federal law, called the Solomon Amendment, gives the government permission to withhold federal grants to universities that do not allow military recruiters.
Opponents of the law say they are angry the military is discriminatory toward gays and do not want recruiters' presence on campus.
Recently, a case brought by an association of law schools called the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights worked its way into the country's high court. The case, FAIR v. Rumsfeld, alleges that the Solomon Amendment is an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment's free speech guarantee.
'In their opinion, it illegally forces a law school to permit military recruiters to come onto their campuses in violation of law schools' non-discrimination policies,' said Jane Heymann, the UW Law School's assistant dean of Career Services.
FAIR said it feels this amendment forces faculty to endorse certain opinions with which they do not agree, so the amendment is unconstitutional in terms of freedom of speech, Heymann said.
The UW Law School endorses FAIR's position, Heymann said.
Although the Supreme Court's decision will not be handed down for a approximately two months, Donald Downs, a UW-Madison political science professor, thinks FAIR will lose the case. 'I think this is probably going to be constitutional,' he said.
Heymann also said it is unlikely that the court will overturn the Solomon Amendment since it does not force military recruiters on campuses. Rather, it simply says government funds will be taken away if military recruiters are not welcome.
'It's not at all uncommon for the federal government to attach conditions to federal funding in order to implement some kind of social policy,' Heymann said, adding this is another reason the Solomon Amendment is unlikely to be overturned.
However, Stop the War member and UW-Madison junior Bill Anderson said he believes the Supreme Court decision will be a 'pretty close call,' saying Stop the War will continue protesting no matter what the outcome.
According to Downs, any decision will likely not affect UW-Madison, as Chancellor John Wiley has already taken a clear stand on the issue.
'The chancellor here has said that regardless of what the federal law is, that they would allow recruiters on campus, because we have ROTC here,' Downs said. '[Wiley] considers that a public service, even though he disagrees with the military policy on discrimination against gays.'
But Anderson said he remains hopeful that student voices can change Wiley's stance.
'If enough students raise their voice and protest, he has to listen to us,' he said.
