Social discrimination and economic power have gone hand in hand throughout our nation’s history.

 

The Supreme Court decision in Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, No. 04-1152 added yet another pearl of prejudice to be strung with other gems of social policy sabotage the government seems to be so fond of. 

           

The unanimous ruling, delivered by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, held that withholding federal funds from universities that do not allow military recruiters the same access to students as other employers, because of their policy toward openly gay students, is constitutional. The challenge to the law was filed by a group of law schools and the Association of American Law Schools, which since 1991 has necessitated that all of its members (most accredited law schools) to follow nondiscriminatory policies toward sexual orientation.

 

Many of the schools either made it very hard for the recruiters to find time and space on campus to contact students, or barred the recruiters completely from campus. In 2004, Congress retaliated with the Salomon Amendment, which allows Departments of Health and Human Resources and Education to withhold federal funding for those universities.

 

The suit was brought on the grounds that it restricts the freedom of speech of the universities. The Court disagreed, stating that the Amendment, “affects what law schools must do — afford equal access to military recruiters — not what they may or may not say."

 

In this manner, universities ranging from Ivies with multi-million dollar debate team endowments to struggling public institutions found out that the money will not be put where their mouth is. Rather, receiving what is rightfully owed to them by the government will come only under the condition that will allow the military access to students “that is at least equal in quality and scope" as that of other potential employers.

 

The schools offered to provide equality and ban all employers with discriminatory policies from their campuses. That argument was dismissed by the Court.

 

Sometime during their law school careers, perhaps in a professional ethics course, the students will come across the famous Nietzsche quote that states that he who fights the monster must take care not to become the monster. They may be tempted to pass the memo on to the entity that, while promising that “all men are created equal,” supports discrimination of a cultural minority, all courtesy of taxpayer money.

 

The Court may be correct in reading the letter of the law. The actual right of speech of the schools is not being impeded. But the spirit of the law (something most of our black-robed bench warmers are not fond of) is clearly discriminatory. And the Court is not a court of justice, but a Court of law, so it should come as no surprise that the Amendment was upheld. What is truly disturbing is the Court’s reminders throughout the case that even if not for the wording of the Salomon Amendment, law schools would still be at the losing end because Congress could recruit on university campuses by exercising its right to raise and support armies.

 

By using its power to distribute funds to promote a discriminatory agenda, Congress is clearly giving a lesson in how money talks, and that it sure doesn’t speak for the weak, underrepresented and financially dependent.

 

And that sad lesson in priorities appears to be the only thing Congress is willing to give law schools for free.