Between the Trenches: NROTC, Queer Identity, and the Soul of a University

December 2008 Columbia Political Review article "Between the Trenches: NROTC, Queer Identity, and the Soul of a University" by Bryan Lowder.  Note:  "NROTC itself isn’t the real issue—it’s just the symbol of a deeper conflict. Past all the rhetoric, the real fight is over the ideological soul of the University.  In a sense, the anti-ROTC side envisions an institution that stands as a model to the rest of society. Free from prejudice and discrimination, the school should be a so-called “safe space,” where academics work to improve the world without interference from governments. The creation of such a space, in their view, challenges societal injustice by refusing to participate in its propagation.  The pro-ROTC side has a more hands-on perspective. It imagines the University as inexorably linked to the nation-state (including the military), with an essential duty to engage directly with that construct.