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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 14, 2006 Sgt. 1st Class Chad Orr, an Army National Guard recruiter and Eagle Point High School graduate who spent a year in Iraq, talks to a potential recruit for the Oregon National Guard at a career fair at SOU Thursday. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Recruiters return to SOU A recent Supreme Court ruling negates a student resolution banning military recruiters from the Stevenson Union By CHRIS CONRAD Mail Tribune ASHLAND — Military recruiters returned to Southern Oregon University nearly a year after a student group voted in favor of banning them from the student union. Recruiters from several military branches participated in Thursday’s Career Fair, an annual job-seeking event held in the Stevenson Union. The Associated Students of SOU passed a resolution last May barring military recruiters from Stevenson Union because of the military’s "don’t ask, don’t tell" homosexuality policy, which the students say conflicts with the university’s anti-discrimination policies. The vote stymied recruitment at the Stevenson Union until a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in March that requires colleges accepting federal funding to provide military recruiters access. Sgt. 1st Class Chad Orr, an Army National Guard recruiter, said he respects the opposition to a military presence at the Stevenson Union. He pointed to a slip of paper given to him by a student. It stated SOU’s affirmative action policy and criticized SOU President Elisabeth Zinser’s decision to disregard the ASSOU’s opinion and student senate’s resolution to block military recruitment. "The university is a microcosm of society," Orr said. "Everyone has a different view. I welcome protesters. What I do allows them the right to do that." Advertisement Orr, a 1989 Eagle Point High School graduate who spent a year in Iraq, said he doesn’t push the military on anyone. He stays back and allows curious students to approach him with questions. "I’ve had about 12 students stop by in the first hour," Orr said. Steve Ryan, ASSOU’s director of administration and finance, pointed out his group is not anti-military. "I come from a military family," he said. "It’s a wonderful thing for some people. But I do have a problem when our institutions deal from the top and bottom of the deck and say you can’t discriminate here, but you can over there. It’s inconsistent." Ryan noted the legislation was written last summer when fliers threatening violence against homosexuals appeared on campus. "We certainly need to abide by the college’s anti-discrimination policy or just get rid of it all together," he said. "It just bothers me to see the double standards." Reach reporter Chris Conrad at 776-4471, or e-mail Recruiters return to SOU ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Send Flowers California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Hammocks Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Email Security Advertisement s Advertisement