Summer 1999 – Issue 55 - Stanford Lawyer - Stanford University

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The Army-Navy GameHalley's book says servicemembers suffer under anti-gay policyWhen the subject is sex- ~slippery slope with respect to how andual identity politics, one;under what circumstances the militaryseldom hears the refrain: ~might consider a person as "manifestinga propensity," says Halley. One of"It was better in the old :days." But in her new book Don't: A ~the byproducts of this "maybe you are,Reader's Guide to the Military's Anti-gay >maybe you aren't" set ofstandards is aPolicy, Janet Halley maintains that theclimate offear and mistrust. HalleyClinton Administration's heraldedsays the fear and mistrust are justified,"don't ask, don't tell" measure is morewhen everything a suspected homoanti-gaythan its predecessor.JANET HALLEY sexual does can be designated "homosexualHalley, Professor of Law and Robert E.conduct," and every person can comeParadise Faculty Scholar, says the promoters of under suspicion. For this reason, and others,the new policy have hoodwinked the public into Halley says, claims that the policy focuses onbelieving that gays and lesbians are being treated conduct rather than status are spurious. As awith more leniency. If they "don't tell," the militarypractical matter, the policy's vague language and"won't ask," and servicemembers will be disversatile applicability make the lines betweencharged only if they engage in homosexual conduct.what is status and what is conduct virtuallyThe policy, in short, supposedly separates indistinguishable. "It allows the military to hidehomosexuals "not for who they are, but for what the ball" while still going after gays and lesbians,they do." According to Halley, this is precisely she said. "It's just a bad faith policy all around,where the new policy is more insidious than its and we shouldn't have bad faith policies."predecessor. Congress required the discharge of The aggressiveness of the policy's enforcementservicemembers who have engaged in contactsvaries broadly, usually depending on thethat manifest a propensity to engage in homosexualmindset of a unit's commanding officer, accordacts; Department of Defense regulations ing to Halley. "If your CO wants to be noticedexpand that to conduct that manifests a propensity.by people in the Pentagon, enforcing this policyServicemembers may be subject to suspicion will get their attention," she said.on the basis of what type of music they listen to, Halley would like Supreme Court justices,or the way they wear their hair. "This varies from appellate judges, and military policy analysts,unit to unit," Halley said. One former servicememberin particular, to read herinformed her that, in her unit, "Peoplebook, but she wrote it for a general,began to think that a woman with short hair,educated reader who wouldwearing a watch with a thick, black band,like to know more about the policy.has manifested a propensity!" Under theBoth the book and a new webregulations, moreover, the commander'ssite devoted to the policy and itsdecision about what conduct manifests aimplications were created to focuspropensity cannot be challenged: "Peopleattention on a subject the media seemsare sitting around wondering what signifiesto have forgotten about, she says.what. The new policy makes a paranoid semioticianThanks to the persistent efforts ofout of every person in uniform," Halley said. Assistant Library Director Paul Lomio andAccording to Halley, the best way to avoid library staff to locate and procure the documents,"detection" is to act vociferously anti-gay. "Thethe site~nt.stanford.edu-featurescasepolicy will be a one-way ratchet ever tightening histories, legalbriefs, military regulations andthe screw of homophobia," she writes.bibliographies. It is not, Halley insists, a chat"If you can be homophobic in just the right room for people upset about the policy.way, you win," Halley said. "This policy says that "Big witch hunts are happening right now inhomosexual sex is bad, and if you show tendenciesthe military," Halley said, "and nobody seems tothat indicate you might engage in that kind be paying any mind. I hope this book will interofsex then you're bad, too; so naturally the best rupt the complacency that's out there aboutway to combat that perception is to be as overthe-topdon't ask, don't tell. The book, and the website,as possible about your straightness." are built on the premise that sunlight is the bestThe policy places all servicemembers on a disinfectant."MonkeyBusiness2L Greene's cultural acumenThere is a scene in thefilm Planet of the Apeswhen Charlton Heston-who portrays anastronaut stranded on the apeplanet after his spaceship crashes-writhesin an animal netthrown over him by a pursuingband of ape soldiers. As the apesmove in to capture him, Hestonglares at the camera and growls,"Take your hands off me, youdamned, dirty ape." And thecrowd goes wild.When Eric Greene ('00)watched that scene, and manyothers, in the five films that comprisethe Apes series, he could nothelp wondering whether somedeeper meaning was imbedded inthe provocative vision of a whiteman struggling to free himselffrom the domination of a supposedlylower species. His musingwas the genesis of a book, Planetof the Apes as American Myth(Wesleyan University Press), thatreaders and critics have hailed asan instant classic in popular cultureanalysis.The book's progenitor wasGreene's SO-page research paperfor a Ford Foundation fellowshiphe completed prior to enteringStanford. His fellowship adviser,Wesleyan Prof. Richard Slotkin,encouraged Greene to expand onhis ideas about the movies' politicalimplications. As he exploredthe movie series in greater detail,Greene says, the political andsocial messages became clearer,and their relationship to eventsin the late '60s and early '70swas unmistakable. "There's thisrefrain, a very self-consciouspattern that followed the racialconflicts of the civil rights era,"Greene said. "I thought, 'Thiscan't be coincidence.'"
Interviews with the movies' David Browne wrote, "Greeneproducers confirmed Greene's makes an utterly plausible case ...contention that the Apes series you'll be scratching your head inwas an allegory about race rela- humbled agreement."tions in America. He points out, 'The reaction to the bookfor example, that the use of apes stunned me," Greene said.as a proxy for non- ....IIr.~'"lII!I!I!IJI!lIllllll•• Hundreds of peoplewhite humans has his-showed up for booktorical and ideologicalsignings in Los Angelesunderpinnings, andand other cities.that their use in theProducers of a documovieshas powerfulmentary about thepsychological reso-Planet of the Apes seriesnance. Greene saysinvited Greene to procertainscenes, such asvide expert commentheape slave revolttary. The special randepicted in the fourthon American Moviefilm in the series, Con-Classics last winter.quest of the Planet of the Apes, mir- The Academy of Science Fictionrored contemporary events such Fantasy and Horror Films awardasthe Watts riots of 1965. Con- ed Greene's book the Goldenquest was considered so politically Scroll Award of Merit forincendiary that it was banned in Outstanding Achievement.South Africa.It's been a dizzying ride for theGreene acknowledges that second-year law student, whothe smirk factor probably was never imagined himself as a writer.high when the book title first "I actually was a little intimidatedappeared on publishers' lists. "It's by writing when I began," Greeneeasy to dismiss the Planet of the said, "but the more I did it theAjJes movies as camp, which they more I enjoyed it."clearly are not," he said. "Some- He has ideas for other books,times pop culture is a serious including one on the history ofpolitical enterprise."federal Indian law. But firstGreene discovered to his things first. "I came to lawamazement that far from smirk- school to work on issues of raceing, readers and critics provided and economic justice," he said.overwhelming affirmation."1 plan to pursue public interestEntertainment Weekly reviewer law related to those issues."The Evidence Points to aSuccessfuL DebutMiguel Mendez's commentaryappears on a new CD-ROMfrom the Practising LawInstitute titled, "The InteractiveCourtroom." Mendez, the AdelbertH. Sweet Professor of Law, shows up in severalshort movie clips discussing witnesses,the use of visuals in the courtroom and the advisabilityof certain kinds of testimony. The CD simulatestrials, then offers Mendez's and other legal scholars'opinions about how the lawyers could or should proceed.(j)Practising Law Institute website: www.pli.eduMaking a ChainStudents link researchers, nonprofits~ew program incubated at Stanford intends tomobilize the vast number of students nationwideinvolved in research as a resource for nonprofitand publiC agencies.The program, Link, currently working out of the MarkTaper Law Student Center, is essentially a "matchmakingservice" for students who need research topics and organizationsthat need the research, says Julie Loughran ('01),executive director.This is how it works: Participating organizations post"help wanted" ads outlining their needs in the Link database.Working with professors across the country, Linkpromotes the database as a means of finding appropriateresearch topics for students, who gain valuable experiencewith real-world clients. Students can search the Link website---www.LinkResearch.org-forprograms that fit theirinterests and skills. Link serves as a broker between studentsand organizations to establish partnerships and get projectsunder way. "The concept is not new," Loughran said, "butthis is a broad-based application. We've had a great response.The nonprofits are saying 'you're walking in the door witha free service for work that we couldn't do otherwise.' "Loughran, Link's lone full-time employee at present,has a strong background in research and communicationsstrategy from her work with the Democratic NationalCommittee and at a private firm, -----Dan Carol & Company. She ispart of a five-member managementteam that includes KateFrucher ('00), a former policy analystin the White House Officeof National Service; SmitaSingh, former program officer forHigher Education InnovativeProjects at the Commission onNational and CommunityService; David White ('00), anactive community affairs organizer;and Michael Echenberg,whose senior thesis at Harvardfour years ago established the COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTtemplate for Link's infrastructure. Tyrome Davis, left, and JacquelineLoughran says the fledgling Sutton were among the esti mated200program needs additionalStanford Law students who participatedin this spring's Buildingfunding as it launches a pilotCommunity Day in East Palo Alto.this fall in Seattle, New Volunteers fanned out to a dozenYork, and San Francisco. sites. painting play structures, weedingparks, and performing other pro"We expect the program tobe self-sufficient withinjects selected by local officials.Another major annual service project,, three years, but we needthe SPILF auction, raised more than./ funding for that first three-year $40.000 to fund student and organizationalpublic interest period," she said.projects.
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Summer 1999 – Issue 55 - Stanford Lawyer - Stanford University

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