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Harvard Pres: ROTC Return If Gays Can Openly Serve

Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust says the school will resume a long-banned Reserve Officer Training Corps program when federal law allows gays to serve openly in the military.

Faust has spoken before about bringing ROTC back pending repeal of the 1993 law known as "don't ask, don't tell." She emphasized her position Wednesday in introducing Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who spoke at the Ivy League school.

Faust said Harvard is prepared to "fully and formally" recognize ROTC when all students have "the privilege and honor of military service" without having to lie. Her comments, first reported by the Harvard Crimson, come as talk of a repeal heats up in Washington.

Harvard banned ROTC in 1969 amid Vietnam War dissent. Its ROTC students train at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This program aired on November 19, 2010. The audio for this program is not available.

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