continued. Olson said that students
report that they are a little un-
comfortable at first with the presenta-
tion and discussion, but describe the
session as “valuable”.

How has this affected Olson and his
work with Vermont CARES? Al-
though he describes his initial re-
action to the ban as “shellshock”, he
can see the good to come out of this
incident. “We were able to raise the
issue in a public forum.” He has also
received total support from his col-
leagues, Hill, and the board of Ver-
mont CARES. Although “we all have
the same goals — to keep our kids
healthy,” he continued, “I think we are
always going to find people who want
to hide behind ignorance and
fear...but this must stop.” He said that
we must get over our “squeam-
ishness” with the subject because
“people's lives are at stake.”

Although Hill praises Harwood for the
implementation of its new condom
distribution policy calling it “an ab-
solutely wonderful job...very dem-
ocratic...very inclusive of com-
munity”, she was disappointed with
the decision concerning Vermont
CARES which played to what she re-
ferred to as a "small vocal minority".
Vermont CARES, however, will con-
tinue its work with other schools and
community organizations. “If we
don't provide this information to
young people,” she said, “we ought to
be in jail. It’s that important!” V

(802) 254 -8032

Walking the Talk

Continued from page 1

“while access to education is important,
the greater good is liberty and freedom”.
Barfield adds “as the military ban be-
comes less and less defensible, UVM tak-
ing a position on ROTC could influence
the DOD policy”.

UVM's nondiscrimination policy says, in
part, “The University of Vermont does
not discriminate on the basis of race, sex,
sexual orientation, handicap, color, re-
ligion, age, national origin, or Vietnam
Veteran status in admission or access to,
or treatment or employment in, its pro-
grams and activities.” Nicholas Marro,
UVM Director of Public Relations, not-
ed that there is a clear conflict between
the DOD and UVM policies. However,
according to Marro “UVM does not dis-
criminate, the federal government does”.
Marro indicated that UVM is working
with other colleges to convince the Pen-
tagon to lift the ban. UVM Professor of

February 1994

Military Science Lieutenant Colonel
George J. Kuk does not see the policy in-
consistency as a problem as any UVM
student, including openly gay and lesbian
students, can take courses in UVM's De-
partment of Military Affairs. However,
Kuk noted that under the DOD policy
he'd be prohibited from contracting an
openly gay student into the ROTC of-
ficer commissioning program. UVM
President Thomas Salmon did not return
phone calls regarding this issue.

The future of ROTC programs on college
campuses remains unknown. President
Clinton's failure to fulfill his campaign
promise succeeded in highlighting the
military's ongoing oppression of gay men
and lesbians. As a state institution, UVM
and the State of Vermont are faced with
deciding whether they should “walk the
talk” when it comes to nondiscrimination.

V

 

32 N. Champlain St. Burlington VT. 05401
802/864 0 7198 ' FAX 802/658 ' 1556

Counseling & Therapy

15 Myrtle St., Brattleboro, VT 05301

B LAC KWOOD
I A  Eileen M. Blackwood
Pamela Kra n k
MICHAEL GIGANTE, PH.D. ,  V "
Psychosynthesis

- Employment law
0 Education law

04/94 0 Small Business

- Wills, Relationship Contracts
5 Commercial & Residential Real Estate

84 Pine Street
P.O. Box 875
Burlington, VT 05402

(802) 863-2517