To the Editor:

In the editorial “Don’t Welcome ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,'” (10/2), you blame the military for its discriminatory policies and urge law students to direct their protests at military recruiters. In fact, the military’s discriminatory policy is mandated by Congress — the military did not put it in place, nor could anyone in uniform end it.

If the Yale Law School wants to protest “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” it should direct its efforts toward the institution that put the policy in place: the U.S. Congress. Banning all federal government recruiters would be the only fair way to protest Congressionally-mandated discrimination through a boycott. Such a move, however, would be impractical and would deny Yale law students the opportunity to interview for many excellent public service jobs.

Rather than boycotting only those who cannot change the policy, the Yale Law School and its students should focus on speaking out against “don’t ask, don’t tell” and urge Congress to allow gays and lesbians to serve in the military.

John Schochet ’01

October 3, 2002