By Emily Gold Boutilier
When “don’t ask, don’t tell” took effect in 1993, barring gays and
lesbians from disclosing their sexual orientation while serving in the
U.S. military, today’s college students weren’t paying attention; most
of them were still in preschool. But last winter, when Amherst
eliminated its requirement that on-campus military recruiters take part
in public forums on “don’t ask, don’t tell” (see “Military Recruiting
at Amherst,” College Row, Winter 2008), students took interest.
As a result, Martha Umphrey, professor of law, jurisprudence and social
thought, offered a primer on the 15-year-old military policy. In Pruyne
Lecture Hall last winter, in advance of a U.S. Navy recruiter’s visit
to campus, she talked about “don’t ask, don’t tell” as a compromise
reached between those who wanted to end the ban against gays in the
military and those who argued that such a change would undermine
military strength.
Pointing to surveys on American public opinion, Umphrey, who opposes
“don’t ask, don’t tell,” contended that early arguments in its favor
are increasingly contested and diminishing in authority. In 2006, the
Pew Research Center found that 60 percent of those surveyed favored
allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military, up from 52
percent in 1994. Support for the policy, Umphrey said, is also
decreasing among military leaders and enlisted members. An estimated
10,000 members of the armed forces have been discharged under “don’t
ask, don’t tell,” according to a 2007 New York Times analysis of
government statistics, with discharges decreasing noticeably since
9/11.
No one in Umphrey’s audience spoke in favor of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
Several students spoke against it. Umphrey says that in the future,
she’d like students to hear first-hand from service members, including those who’ve been discharged under the policy.