<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/27/AR2010052705686.html
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Kagan, as Harvard law school dean, pursued two courses on 'don't ask' policy By Amy Goldstein Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, May 28, 2010
Elena Kagan picked up her phone just before Christmas 2004 and, in an uncharacteristic moment as Harvard Law School dean, dialed the home number of a third-year student. She asked him, a leader of a tiny club of military veterans, to come by her office, where she broached the touchy matter of military recruiting on campus and made a surprising request.
Because the law school had just stopped sponsoring recruiters from the armed services, Kagan said, she hoped the veterans club would arrange recruiting interviews to fill the gap. But the request was more than the few veterans on campus would embrace. After an intense debate, the Harvard Law School Veterans Association turned her down, according to three people who were in the room, deciding that -- as one put it -- "we are basically students, not recruiters."
The little-known episode illustrates that, at the time when the issue was most feverish, Kagan was pursuing two courses at once: While staking out a tough stance against the recruiting, because of the military's ban on gay men and lesbians serving openly, she simultaneously maneuvered to facilitate it behind the scenes. Those watching her up close were divided over whether she was hedging on hard choices or simply trying not to antagonize rival campus factions.
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