UW-Stout: ROTC Decision Reversed

Via JS's DayWatch:

The chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Stout has reversed his earlier decision to prevent an Army ROTC program from being established on the campus, citing earlier UW System regent policies and federal law.

Chancellor Charles Sorensen, who announced the reversal today after two weeks of criticism from Republican legislators and others, said he remains concerned about the ROTC programs position on "banning people because of their stated sexual orientation."

Nonetheless, he insisted the change was not a result of "external political pressure," but rather that the school could not violate regent policies or federal laws. UW-Stout could have lost significant federal funding if it barred the program.

Good for them, though I don't buy the press release one second that it was not the result of "external political pressure." UW-Stout Chancellor Sorenson was taking a large amount of heat for this.

He was the one-man veto, after all. Using the always believable "We oppose 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'" Ivy League excuse that even Ivy Leaguers don't buy.

Sorenson is just another left-wing college administrator who hates the military - nothing else to it.

UPDATE 10:57 AM - This news report from RiverTowns.net reports that Sorenson made the announcement yesterday in a memo.

In a memo sent out to the University of Wisconsin-Stout campus Monday morning, Chancellor Charles Sorenson reversed his earlier decision banning an Army reserve officer training program on campus in Memomonie.

In his memo Sorenson noted that the decision to ban ROTC from campus would go against long-standing UW Board of Regents policy and would put the university in violation of federal law.

"After contact from UW System's General Counsel, it became clear to me that campus attempts to prohibit an ROTC chapter may be a violation of regent policy and federal law. In reading the law it appears that barring ROTC could place significant amounts of federal funding for us at risk."

Why send out a memo on Memorial Day unless you're totally ashamed of the decision you made in the first place?

Sorenson's a total phony.