Gerken worked closely with Lambda, the Law School’s support group for gay and lesbian students, and was a featured speaker in a protest rally against the new recruiting policy in October.

“The policy is based on the stereotype that gays and lesbians are somehow predators,” she said. “Stating the proposition alone should be enough to disprove it.”

Derek C. Araujo ’99, a second-year student at HLS who is a member of Lambda, called the military’s ban on gays “ineffective.”

“In the long run it just undermines the military,” he said. “There are members of Lambda who would love to serve, and it’s a shame they’re turning people away.”

Lt. Cynthia Colin, a spokesperson for the Department of Defense, declined to comment on the debate surrounding the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

“We look at sexual orientation as a private matter,” she said. “We try [to] discourage any type of harassment and make sure that our commanders enforce the policy that is in place.”

The study, “A Modest Proposal: Privacy as a Flawed Rational for the Exclusion of Gays and Lesbians from the U.S. Military,” was published in the Fall 2002 edition of International Security, which subscribers received last month.