The Reserve Officer Training Corps is probably here to stay.

Both the Senate and the House approved Senate Bill 644 on June 26 prohibiting public universities from barring ROTC.

The bill “prohibits the governing boards of public colleges and universities from barring United States armed forces training programs or organizations from their campuses because the programs or organizations comply with rules and policies of the federal government.”

The bill will go to the House for 30 days to be prepared for Gov. Jim Edgar’s approval. Edgar has 90 days to sign the bill.

University Council Executive Secretary J. Carroll Moody said before the bill passed, the University Council planned on bringing the ROTC issue back up if the policy regarding homosexuals did not change.

Moody said other universities are upset with the bill. “Northern hasn’t been alone,” he said.

Moody said the Department of Defense said it will not change its policy regarding homosexuals unless the courts order it to.

“I think it’s unfair the legislature dealt with this issue,” he said. “Many people disagreed with the bill.”

Moody said if the governor signs the bill, “there will not be any movement on part of the UC.”

Council might take the position to keep pressing for changes in the ROTC policy, he said.

Moody said there have been attempts to set up lobbying in Washington “to enact legislation to change the policy.”

“Even the spokesman for the Gay/Lesbian Union said they do not object to the ROTC, just to their policies,” Moody said.

NIU President John La Tourette said “there will be some further discussions about the issue with the University Council.”

“We are bound by the legislature if the governor signs (the bill),” he said. “(The bill) does not address all the issues.”

La Tourette said NIU has taken action over the last year regarding the bill. “We’ve talked to the congressional delegation in Washington and asked offices to persuade the Department of Defense to look at the issue,” he said.