To the Editor:

The editorial (“University should reinstate ROTC,” 12/3) gave me reason to be proud of the Yale student body.

Yale aspires to train young men and women to be the future leaders of the country. By banishing ROTC from campus, Yale sends the message that an aspiration to lead soldiers and sailors in defending our country is beneath the dignity of an Eli.

I cannot think of anything the University could do that would more surely consign the institution to cultural irrelevance.

And no policy disagreement, even a serious one involving discrimination, could justify such a stance. Your editorial does much to restore the honor of Yale as a leading institution in our democracy, and for that I am grateful.

Here’s hoping that the University administration heeds your call and brings back ROTC in time for the Class of ’06 to benefit in its first year on campus.

And here’s hoping that by so doing, Yale shames Harvard into belatedly following suit.

Noah Millman ’92

December 6, 2001