Rift Over Recruiting at Public High Schools

[chlamor]

Rift over recruiting at public high schools

A Seattle high school bars military solicitation, touching off debate over Iraq war and free speech.
By Dean Paton | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

SEATTLE – While most Parent Teacher Student Association meetings might center on finding funding for better math books or the best way to chaperon a school dance, a recent meeting here at Garfield High School grappled with something much larger - the war in Iraq.

The school is perhaps one of the first in the nation to debate and vote against military recruiting on high school campuses - a topic already simmering at the college level. In fact, the Supreme Court recently agreed to decide whether the federal government can withhold funds from colleges that bar military recruiters.

High schools are struggling with a similar issue as the No Child Left Behind Act requires that schools receiving federal funding must release the names of its students to recruiters. Some feel that's an invasion of privacy prompted by a war effort that has largely divided the American public. Others say barring recruiters is an infringement of free speech - and a snub to the military, particularly in a time of war.

<snip>


"Planned Parenthood, as far as I know, does not advocate or perform illegal acts. The US military does," Mr. Ludwig continued. The soft-spoken carpenter said he would not object if Army representatives came to Garfield to debate their ideas on torture or aggressive war. "What I object to is their coming here to recruit students to perform those acts," he said. "It's not about free speech."

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0518/p02s01-ussc.html

[Nikki Stone 1]

1. Good for Mr. Ludvig

And for Garfield high school.

[hadrons]

2. direct the recruiters to the Young Repukes frat house or freerepublic.com

... silly me

[Miss Chybil]

3. So, No Child Left Behind is an unfunded mandate that requires schools

to allow military recruiters to solicit children at school or the schools will lose federal funds? Can this administration get any more sinister?

I spent a long time in the Army. I was even in Marine Corps JROTC in high school. I loved it. (JROTC - not the Army.) I don't think this captive audience for the military recruiter is right, though. And, to be threatened with losing precious dollars if kids aren't lined up for the pitch?

No child left behind my ass.

On edit: What really makes this bad is the recruiters don't show up much at "rich" schools. They only go to the poor ones and these are the schools who are most desperate for the money. This really blows.

[me b zola]

10. "No child left behind the front line"

You are exactly correct about recruiters not targeting more affluent schools, no one there has to put their ass on the line for a collage education. This is why Congressman Rangel pushes for a draft--if rich kids were forced to serve, there would be alot fewer wars.

[Miss Chybil]

11. Your subject line is great, but maybe you should say, "No poor child...

left behind the front lines." I think that would make a good bumper sticker.

[me b zola]

12. True,& true

No Poor Child Left Behind
The Front Lines



good bumper sticker, horrible reality

[rpannier]

4. To be honest...

releasing names is a bad thing, preventing them from coming on career day to recruit is also not good. Personally, I'd prefer them to be at the school where they can be watched and overheard by adults in case they lie or threaten, then have them be unsupervised in a parking lot or at the recruiting center.

[Eloriel]

7. Yeah, but it's not an either/or proposition. They WILL be doing both

if not this h.s., others.

[havocmom]

5. In Tucson recently, they had to make the recruiters tow the line.

They were interrupting classes, taking kids out of classes for testing. Basically coming and going as they damned well pleased. Funny thing, the problems were reported at Tucson High, in a lower income area and with high Latino/black enrollment. Did not read of the same problems reported in the Tucson Daily Star for the east side (money side of town) high school, Sabino. Hmmmm.

Anyway the district passed rules that the military recruiters would be bound by the same rules observed by job recruiters and those from colleges: Once a week, in one part of the school, no wandering around during classes, no pulling kids out of class to gang up on them one at a time.

Parents need to get really proactive with this shit. These people are making contact with kids at an age when many naturally have problems with their parents. The recruiters know this about teens. They are preying on them at a time when most are at odds with parents from time to time and would like to get out. So they can court the kids for 2 years prior to their 18th birthday, at which point the kid can sign on the line. Gee, how about some parental notification about what is going on, or does that only pertain to young women with issues relating to sexual activity?

[bluestateguy]

6. Any student who wants to sign up is free to do so

It just takes a little initiative. Walk on down to the nearest recruiting office, probably at the mall, and you can sit down with the recruiter and listen to his con job. I certainly won't stand in the way of a young Republican who supports this war doing just that.

[teryang]

8. Misleading recruiting propaganda at HS awards ceremony

Representatives of the Marine Corps and US Army, purported to award "scholarships" putatively worth $18,000.00 and $36,000.00 to a few of the graduates of my child's high school at an award ceremony last night.

They claimed that these Montgomery GI bill benefits had already been awarded to graduates who had enlisted but not yet embarked upon their active duty commitments. This is my opinion is a misleading recruitment ploy. My understanding is that these benefits do not accrue until one has successfully completed their tour of active duty, which may be interrupted by death, disability, involuntary separation for convenience of the service; involuntary separation for misconduct, personality disorder, or in lieu of courts-martial; or that one may loss the entitlement for less than honorable discharge due to courts-martial sentence, involuntary administrative discharge, or conviction in a civilian court.

This misrepresentation is probably going on at hundreds of high school ceremonies across the country during graduation season.

[yorkiemommie1]

9. do they ever visit places

like Christian Academies ( Assembly of God ) totally fundamentalist types of school?

[AnnInLa]

13. www.militaryfreezone.org

In the Senate debates this morning, either Sessions or Brownback (I can't remember which) went on and on about schools which would not cooperate with military recruiters. Evidently, some judge somewhere backed up the schools in some situation, and he considered that judge activist, and threatened states which allow their schools to disallow military recruiting with the cutting of federal funds.

Please remember, if military recruiters are allowed into your or your children's school, then the Right to Free Speech also extends to the contrary view. You can ask for a table to be set up at which you can counsel the kids about the REALISTIC effects of enlisting.

An excellent resource is www.militaryfeezone.org