Statement Regarding Military JAG RECRUITING on Campus
Dear Lambda Community,
In light of the recent and upcoming recruiting from various Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG Corps), the military’s judicial branch, we are writing to provide information about Lambda's commitment to ensuring that Penn Law is a welcoming and inclusive place for all students.
As many of you know, the Trump administration implemented the ban on transgender individuals serving in the U.S. military. While President Biden and incoming Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin have indicated their intention to repeal this anti-trans policy, the policy as it stands is openly transphobic. It is also in conflict with Penn Law’s non-discrimination policy, which prohibits employers who engage in discriminatory practices from recruiting on campus.
Further, despite significant medical advances in the treatment and prevention of HIV, the Department of Defense has reaffirmed its policy that HIV is a disqualifying medical condition for military service. If a service member contracts HIV while on active duty, they are generally barred from deployment and unable to advance in their careers; some are discharged from service entirely. We believe this policy also constitutes a failure to comply with Penn’s non-discrimination standards.
Despite the military’s clear violation of Penn Law’s non-discrimination policy, the school is required to allow their recruiters on campus under the Solomon Amendment. The Solomon Amendment explicitly requires the University to permit the military to recruit on campus regardless of compliance with our non-discrimination policy, as prohibiting the military from recruitment threatens the loss of federal funding to the entire University.
Previous Lambda Board members have met with Dean Ruger and the Career Planning & Professionalism office (CP&P) to understand how to protect vulnerable members of our community and ensure that Penn is upholding its commitment to non-discriminatory practices from on-campus employers. Acknowledging that the presence of the military on campus may be upsetting or triggering for some students, the administration has historically ensured that military recruiting events are clearly identified and marked so that they may be easily avoided.
CP&P has made a commitment to improving our recruiting systems and processes for students that are trans and/or non-binary. In the past years, they have included resume examples listing pronouns and have updated Symplicity, Penn’s recruiting software, to allow applicants to opt out of disclosing their gender in applications. Some of these steps may feel small, but when they are adopted by many it helps to normalize and reinforce inclusive notions of gender identity and expression.
We will continue working with CP&P to ensure that Penn Law serves the career development needs of every student at the law school and we welcome feedback on ways CP&P can better provide for LGBTQ+ students.
If any student would like to discuss these issues further, please do not hesitate to reach out to any of the Lambda Board members, the Dean of Students, and Jamie Reisman & Neta Borshansky from CP&P. Professor Wolff has also volunteered to be a resource for questions and concerns, especially with regard to the history of the Solomon Amendment and military recruiting vis-a-vis LGBTQ+ rights.
With love and sincerity,
Penn Law Lambda Board
