A protest against the Department of Defense’s 12-year-old “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy ended in the arrest of three University of Richmond students Wednesday night. Jacob Neal and Kristen Tilley, both 21-year-old seniors at the university, were arrested around 9:30 p.m. for their nonviolent protest inside the Naval Recruiting Station at the Shops at Willow Lawn. 20-year-old Naoum Tavantzis was arrested for returning to the Willow Lawn property after being told to leave by the police, said Lt. Doug Perry, spokesman for the Henrico County Division of Police.
Neal, who is gay, and Jessica Miller, who is bisexual, attempted to enlist in the military in protest to the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which bars openly gay people from serving. Neal said they were working on behalf of the 65,000 people serving in the closet. The rule has meant the dismissal of key personnel such as Farsi and Arabic translators, he said.
“This policy is wrong. This policy is unfair,” Neal said. He said as an opponent of the policy, the “part that has been missing has been take-it-to-the-streets activism.”
The protest started around 11 a.m., when U of R senior Jessica Miller attempted to enlist in the Air Force.
“I’m graduating in May,” Miller told Air Force Reserves recruiter Tech. Sgt. Evyette W.J. Turner. Turner was happy to hear Miller wanted to join the Air Force. But then Miller asked Turner about something she’d heard – that no openly gay person can serve in the military. Then Miller told her she was bisexual.
“Why did you tell me that?” Turner asked. Being openly gay violates the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, and admitting it in her interview ended her chance to enlist. Miller and her supporters then waited in the hallway of the recruiting center, which includes Navy, Marine Corps, Army and Air Force Reserves offices.
“I was disappointed,” Miller, a psychology and German major from Lancaster, Pa., said. “I got really excited about my options.” She was pleased, however, she was able to talk with the recruiter, not simply locked out.
Neal, a Richmond native, led a group of nearly 20 supporters into the Navy office around 5:45 p.m. He began the application process with a recruiter. He admitted to a speeding charge on Hull Street Road and trespassing charges stemming from protests. Then he mentioned “one concern” – that he was gay – and was told he was disqualified in accordance with the Department of Defense rule. He informed the recruiter that he and his supporters would remain in the office staging a sit-in protest until the police arrived.
Around 7 p.m., the recruiter asked the group to leave and called the police after they refused. At 9:30 p.m., Henrico County Police officers reached Willow Lawn and cleared the office. The group had shrunk slightly to 12 students and VCU student Heather Moore. While the police brought several cars and a large bus, all but Neal and Tilley left when instructed by police. Neal and Tilley were then escorted onto the bus.
Willow Lawn security asked the remaining protesters to leave the property before 10 p.m., and they reconvened on a nearby public sidewalk.
Katey Reighard, a student with the SoulForce campaign that organized similar protests in 30 cities, said Tavantzis was only walking through the mall to get his car when he was arrested. Earlier in the day, she had said members of the campaign planned to remain until arrested.
Before his arrest, Tavantzis, a junior economic and environmental studies major, said he heard about the protest that afternoon and came to support the cause. He said he disagreed with the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. He arrived so late because he had stopped to help a woman change a flat tire, he told the other protesters.
MC1 (SCW/FMF) Lisa Keding, public affairs officer for Navy Recruiting District Richmond, said the policy began in 1994. It is a DoD-directed policy, not just one from the Navy or Air Force.
“Basically, we don’t ask, we don’t tell, and we don’t pursue applicants. We don’t ask them about their sexual orientation,” she said.
She said they as service members supported the group’s right to protest.
It’s their First Amendment right to engage in acts such as this sit-in. It’s their right to do this,” Keding said.
Moore, a junior mass communications student, said the rule is “unethical of the military.”
Thad Williamson, an assistant professor at the University of Richmond, Jepson School of Leadership studies, sat in with the students. He said he knew Neal.
“I got an e-mail. I thought it was important to show up,” he said.
Sara Shanley, a VCU student who entered the recruiting office before leaving for a class, said the need for service members was too urgent to reject people based on sexual orientation.
“An improvement would be to let everyone serve that wants to. There’s no point in not letting them serve. Especially now when we need people to be serving,” she said.