Yale bars military recruiters from campus. The following memo was sent to

the Yale Law School community by Dean Koh. In it, Dean Koh revels in a

court victory that struck down the Solomon Amendment, thus allowing Yale to

both receive more than a quarter of a billion dollars in federal funding per

year while at the same time discriminating against the military in its

recruitment fairs. I could go on for days about this one, but it is enough

to say that this is shameful behavior on the part of a supposedly esteemed

educational institution.

MEMORANDUM FROM YALE LAW SCHOOL
TO: The Law School Community
FROM: Harold Hongju Koh
DATE: February 1, 2005
RE: Military Recruiting and the Spring 2005 Interviewing Program
As you know, the Defense Department has lately interpreted the Solomon
Amendment to require denial of federal funds to institutions of higher
education that withhold assistance from military recruiters who will not
pledge to refrain from discrimination in recruiting. Last year, groups of
Yale Law School faculty and students filed suit in the federal district
court in Bridgeport challenging the legality of the Defense Department’s
interpretation of the Solomon Amendment. On December 9, 2004, Judge Janet C. Hall (D.Conn.) heard argument on motions for summary judgment in these
cases. A few weeks earlier, in the FAIR litigation, the Third Circuit
directed entry of a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the
Solomon Amendment, stating that “[t]he Solomon Amendment requires law
schools to express a message that is incompatible with their educational
objectives, and no compelling governmental interest has been shown to deny
this freedom. … In this context, the Solomon Amendment cannot condition
federal funding on law schools’ compliance with it.” Yesterday, Judge Hall
granted summary judgment in favor of the faculty plaintiffs. Judge Hall’s
opinion confirmed that the Solomon Amendment has been unconstitutionally
applied to Yale Law School and permanently enjoined the Defense Department
“from enforcing it against Yale University based upon Yale Law School’s
Non-Discrimination Policy.” Judge Hall’s opinion declared: “The Solomon
Amendment violates the [faculty] plaintiffs’ First Amendment right to
freedom of speech.. . . ” Yale Law School, “acting through the Faculty, has
been unconstitutionally coerced into foregoing its own message [of
nondiscrimination] and into assisting DoD in the dissemination of DoD’s
message of its “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy….” “In addition, DoD offers
no evidence to support a finding that the Solomon Amendment, and the
suspension of the N[on-]D[iscrimination] P[olicy] for the past two years at
YLS that it caused, has advanced its goal of raising an army through
effective recruiting.” … “[T]he Solomon Amendment is not narrowly tailored
to advance a compelling government interest, and thus unjustifiably burdens
the Faculty Members’ First Amendment right of expressive association.” I am
gratified by Judge Hall’s judgment, which seems to me clearly correct. Her
ruling brings us closer to the day when all members of our community have an
equal opportunity to serve in our Nation’s armed forces. This Thursday,
February 3, 2005, the Spring 2005 Interviewing Program will begin. In light
of the District Court’s opinion and injunction, Yale Law School will enforce
its nondiscrimination policy during the Spring 2005 Interviewing Program
without exception. Harold Hongju Koh Dean, Yale Law School