In an e-mail to students and faculty yesterday, President Ruth Simmons announced the members of the new committee tasked with examining the University's policy on the Reserve Officers' Training Corps.
The committee is comprised of seven faculty members, Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron and two undergraduate students. The Graduate Student Council will also name a student representative to serve on the committee.
Though Simmons credits the recent repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" as one of her reasons for forming the committee, Bergeron said the University began considering a reassessment of its ROTC policy before the controversial law was repealed.
Brown's ROTC policy has been a topic of discussion for decades, beginning with the decision to terminate the on-campus program in 1969. Since then, students and faculty have regularly debated whether or not Brown should reassess its stance.
"It's not the first time the question has been raised," Bergeron said. "This wasn't stimulated entirely from the recent legislation."
Cade Howard '14, one of the students on the committee, said he was glad "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was repealed, and this committee will be an opportunity to foster dialogue around whether ROTC should be reinstituted.
"The repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell was the catalyst for this committee," Howard said. "We're not in the position we were in when the student body wanted to get rid of ROTC."
"The military has a different role in the world today," he added.
Howard, who has a brother currently enrolled at the United States Coast Guard Academy, said he is still relatively unbiased about the issue and hopes to be a voice for his peers.
"I just want to represent what the student body feels is the right decision and maintain an open mind," he said.
Committee member Chaney Harrison '11.5, who has worked with student veterans at Brown and served in the military himself, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald that the committee's recommendations will give the University a chance to reassess and clarify its stance towards the military.
"It is my hope that this committee will be able to foster dialogue and, if not create new policy, then at least clearly define the reasoning for the policy that exists," Harrison wrote.
Harrison wrote that there have been ongoing discussions between the University and student veterans about their experience at Brown, which played a role in the University's decision to form the committee.
Candidates for the committee were not vetted based on their political views, but rather chosen for their interest in and expertise on the policy, Bergeron said. "We were looking for diversity on the committee, but we didn't inquire about political leanings," she said.
Kenneth Miller '70 P'02, professor of biology and a member of the committee, was a student when the policy first came under fire. His goal in serving on the committee will be to get input from students and faculty, as well as gather information that will help inform University policy, he said.
"I think everyone has an opinion on this one way or another, but I wouldn't have agreed to serve on the committee if I wasn't interested in finding out the facts," he said.
The committee, which will be staffed by Stephen Lassonde, deputy dean of the College, will hold its first meeting today. In the coming months, the group will be looking for input from the Brown University Community Council and the Undergraduate Council of Students, as well as from other students and faculty at open forums.
"I think academic institutions have a responsibility to have open dialogue on all kinds of important issues," Bergeron said. "The time was right for this committee to be formed."
The committee will release its recommendations this spring.
