Pro: John Harrisson -Military recruiters are a necessary evil…
On November 16 Army and Navy recruiters stalked the halls of Skyline College. Like vultures or traveling salesmen they roamed, waiting for a patriotic student to pluck in their Red White and Blue talons. Skyline College is forced to allow these military men on campus through the Solomon Amendment passed by Congress. What do we get for our troubles? A fat check from the Department of Defense.
The bad news is there’s not much we can do about military presence on campus. The good news is that colleges nationwide get a load of money from the government, and if that means there are a few recruiters hanging around then so be it. Schools in California desperately need the money with the recent budget crisis. We don’t really have a choice.
The Solomon Amendment states that ‘No funds available to the Department of Defense may be provided by grant or contract to any institution of higher education that has a policy of denying, or which effectively prevents, the Secretary of Defense from obtaining for military recruiting purposes entry to campuses or access to students on campuses; or access to directory information pertaining to students.’ In a nutshell, this means that the Department of Defense can withdraw funding from schools if they ban military recruiters on campuses.
The Solomon Amendment also allows the Secretary of Defense to obtain much of your personal information. According to the Amendment, your name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, level of education, your degrees, and your most recent educational institution (for example, Skyline College) is available for the Secretary at any time, and restriction on that information can result in withdrawal of funding from the government. This is quite obviously a bad thing, so we’ve got to keep these people happy. Our economy depends on it.
There are many reasons for wanting recruiters off our campus, but there’s too much money to be lost for it. Recruiters stalking students unsuspectingly at Skyline is definitely deplorable, but where else are they going to snag fresh fodder for the war on Iraq or whatever other country we happen to be at war with at the time? Our government has the right to bring the option of a military career to whoever they please and no matter what our personal opinion on the matter, the responsibility is eventually going to land on the individual person to decide if a job with a gun in their hand is what they really want.
It may seem like military recruiters are following you, waiting for your signature on the dotted line sealing your bloody fate… the truth is they are. They should be tolerated for what they do for our country, even if it is the wrong thing. While I disagree with the war in Iraq, I respect the decision of soldiers to take the call of duty. Next time you see a man in a uniform wandering around Skyline, don’t think negatively of them. They’re just doing their duty.
Con: Kyle Chidester – Get them off our campuses!
There is a specter hanging over us. It looms on the campus, it stalks through our halls, and once every semester it sets up shop in the cafeteria. It has an aggressive demeanor, and it wants to consume all of us. This specter is the military recruitment policy with institutions of higher learning.
Over the past semester alone military recruiters have visited our beloved campus looking for fresh meat at least once each month. The National Guard was here September 19 through the 22; the Army was here October 10 and 18. And both the Army and Navy were present at the semesterly Job Fair on November 16. Now even though that adds up to only about a week, their presence seems to feel more imposing.
It seems to me that they like to parade around and pick on the less fortunate student. Perhaps the student on financial aid is having trouble paying for school, and the military is able to offer them something better. So how are these recruiters able to signal out these specific students?
Well it just so happens that there is an amendment, the Solomon Amendment, that requires all institutions of higher education and any sub element of that institution to allow complete access to campuses, students on campus, and directory information of students to the Secretary of a military department or the Secretary of Homeland security. And if that weren’t scary enough, if any institution or sub element of that institution denies or prevents access they will in turn be denied specific funding for student services.
But some organizations don’t believe that the militaries stranglehold on the college campuses is constitutional, and directly opposes their first amendment rights. FAIR, Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights has challenged the Solomon Amendment and brought it to the Supreme Court. They feel it is actually a blatant attack at gay, lesbian, and bisexual students, because they openly exclude these people. The Court’s final decision on the constitutionality of the Solomon Amendment will be made on December 6.
So once again the military uses threats and force to get what they want out of society. Personally I don’t feel comfort in knowing that the military can gain access to my whole life when ever they feel so inclined. I feel this to be a direct violation of my rights to privacy. I certainly will keep my self informed on the outcome of the FAIR vs. Rumsfeld case, and do my own part in supporting the fight against the Solomon Amendment. I for one am getting rather tired of heckling and being heckled by the military recruiters. Let’s get them off our campuses, and do it soon.