CHAT & CHEW - Life After: Don't Ask, Don't Tell |Thursday, November 15, 2018 | HGSC, Room 200C

“(If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right” is a song lyric first made famous by the late R&B and soul singer-songwriter, Luther Ingram, that addresses “an inappropriate love relationship between two individuals according to conventional moral standards.” The question is: Who gets to decide what is appropriate in love?

Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) was the official United States Department of Defense policy on military service by gay, bisexual, or lesbian individuals, as stated in the Department of Defense Directive 1304.26, issued on December 21, 1993. Former Pennsylvania Congressman, Patrick Murphy, U.S. Armed Forces Veteran, and the former Under Secretary of the Army, who served, by appointment, under President Obama as a member of the United States Military Academy’s Board of Visitors, introduced legislation referred to as the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010, which paved the way for those who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual to serve openly in the U.S. Armed Forces.

If you or any of your loved ones served in the U.S. Armed Forces prior to the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010, you can contribute to the conversation or learn something about the injustices suffered by thousands of service members who were discharged from the military on the basis of their sexual orientation. The previous existence of the DADT policy is old news for new recruits. However, for some veterans who served prior to the 2010 repeal, the wounds experienced during that time have not yet healed. In recognition of November Military Appreciation Month, the Military and Veteran Services (MVSC), in collaboration with the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, Advocacy and Leadership (IDEAL) invites the Temple University community to a discussion led by those who have served - Life After: Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

A discussion moderated by Dr. Tiffenia Archie, Assistant Vice President, Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, Advocacy and Leadership (IDEAL) will feature guest panelists:

Marilyn Kelly-Cavotta, MSW, Temple University School of Social Work, 2018; U.S. Army Veteran - Medic: Coordinator of Veteran Advocacy;

Deputy Dante Austin, LGBT Liasion to the Sheriff's Office; U.S. Army Veteran, Pennsylvania Army National Guard; and

Aronda Smith-Benson, Founder, Women Veteran Command Center; U.S. Army Veteran.

Register Today!

Sponsored by the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, Adovacy and Leadership (IDEAL) and the Military and Veteran Services Center