Protest

Photo: Annie Tritt for The New York Times
Jacob Reitan, right, a gay student from the Harvard Divinity School, was one of two men arrested for trespassing on Friday at the Armed Forces recruiting station in Times Square.

NYTimes:
Two students were arrested for trespassing at the Armed Forces recruiting station in Times Square today as part of a series of sit-in protests in the Northeast against the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. About 20 people took part in the protest, organized by the Harvard Right to Serve Campaign; most left the scene when the police arrived.

The two students arrested were Jacob Reitan, a Harvard Divinity School student, and another man, Shelby Condray, a Boston University graduate student. Fellow protesters and passers-by cheered in their support. They were each given a criminal summons to appear before a judge at a later date, then released. The police said the two spent five minutes in the precinct office.

The students staged their protest (video can be seen at YouTube) after Mr. Reitan walked into the recruitment center, surrounded by other protesters holding signs, and tried to enlist while declaring that he was gay. He was arrested for not leaving after the military recruiters told him to, he said.

Later, in a phone interview, when a reporter asked why he did not simply enlist without mentioning that he is gay — as many gays and lesbians serving in the military have done — Mr. Reitan replied: “I know what the road ahead is for someone who doesn’t tell. It’s lies and deceit and stress.”