"Friends that I've met on campus will ask how 'Nazi' is doing," he says.

Gonzalez bristles at that sort of comparison as inconsistent with the military's or his own service mission.

"It's saying that serving your country in the armed services is just like being a tool of an armed oppressor. I see the military's job as the exact opposite--protecting the innocent like the Kosovar Albanians," he says.

"I've always wanted to serve my country and what they're saying is equating national service, which I deem honorable, with definite evils," he adds.

Gonzalez recognizes that not everyone shares his views on ROTC and the military in general. Eager to discuss the controversy, he feels the issue requires careful consideration.

"Just by saying we don't want ROTC on our campus is not adding constructively to the argument. It's casting it aside in the shadows," he says. "This debate is a great thing that a lot can be achieved from."

While Gonzalez thinks that the armed forces will eventually confront the issue of "don't ask, don't tell," he sees student discussion as an important precursor to policy change.

"I do believe that one day homosexuals will be fully integrated into the military. What is more important for now is to create an atmosphere for debate and acknowledgement that there is a problem," he says.