After 18 years, the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy is officially history.
The Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 passed in December, but it did not go into effect until Tuesday, when President Obama and other officials certified the military was ready and able to repeal the policy.
Sara Isaacson, a former UNC student, was asked to leave the University’s Army ROTC program in 2010 after she came out as a lesbian her senior year.
“Tens of thousands of Army workers can breathe a little easier since they’re not worried about losing their job over their sexual orientation,” she said.
“It means that I’m now allowed to join the military if I want to and it is something I want to do,” Isaacson said.
Isaacson has spoken with UNC’s Army ROTC office about rejoining as a cadet, but she said reenlisting does not negate the money she owes.
After she was forced to leave the program, Isaacson was asked to repay the $79,000 scholarship she received from the U.S. Army.
“I’m hoping that the cadet commander who said I would have to return the money will take a second look at it to see if I’m able to commission and if I can fulfill my obligation to military service,” she said.
Regardless of whether Isaacson can join the ROTC program again, she plans on enrolling as a full-time student this spring and graduating in May.
The University’s Army ROTC program abides by Department of Defense policies and will support their implementation, said Major Megan Stallings, chairwoman of UNC’s department of military science, in an email.
Cadet Alexis Gonzales, a member of the University’s Army ROTC, said she supports the decision to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
“I plan to take all steps to implement this policy both now as a cadet and in the future when I commission and become an Officer,” she said in an email.
“We must remember that our organization has not changed and neither have the people in it,” she said.
Joseph Amodei, a junior studio art major at UNC, said he supports the repeal.
“That’s good to hear in light of N.C.’s proposed banning of gay marriage,” he said.
The University’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Straight Alliance had been anticipating the repeal, said Swati Rayasam, editor-in-chief of LAMBDA magazine and an executive board member of the organization.
“We knew this was coming, so it wasn’t entirely suspenseful,” she said.
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