Despite Obama's Call, No Rush
In his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, President Obama
called for college campuses to "open their doors to our military
recruiters" and the Reserve Officer Training Corps.
This would have been an explosive statement with wide ramifications 40
years ago, at the height of the Vietnam War, but in today's context, it
is basically symbolic. The hostility between universities, many of them
now dependent on federal funding, and the military, with the draft long
over, is much diminished.
Military recruiters have already been on most college campuses for
years. And since Congress last month repealed "don't ask, don't tell,"
the policy that banned gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the
military, most of the elite universities with no R.O.T.C. programs have
indicated that they are prepared to bring the military onto campus.
But that is no guarantee that such programs will materialize. For one
thing, the military has limited resources for new R.O.T.C. units. For
another, the level of student interest is extremely low, with no more
than 10 to 20 students at these campuses participating in nearby
R.O.T.C. programs now, though that could change if units were more
convenient to campus.
"New schools or universities interested in R.O.T.C. programs will each
be evaluated" with an eye toward "the most efficient use of these
resources," Cynthia Smith, a spokeswoman for the Pentagon, said
Wednesday.
Diane Mazur, a law professor at the University of Florida, a former Air
Force officer and author of "A More Perfect Military," said: "I would be
the most surprised person in the world if the military came back to
Harvard or Yale. The military doesn't have the staffing or the funding,
and it's very expensive to start a new R.O.T.C. detachment."
She added: "Both sides have to dance to make it work, and the military
isn't in a position to expand these programs."
--
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/education/28rotc.xml
Via InstaFetch
In his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, President Obama
called for college campuses to "open their doors to our military
recruiters" and the Reserve Officer Training Corps.
This would have been an explosive statement with wide ramifications 40
years ago, at the height of the Vietnam War, but in today's context, it
is basically symbolic. The hostility between universities, many of them
now dependent on federal funding, and the military, with the draft long
over, is much diminished.
Military recruiters have already been on most college campuses for
years. And since Congress last month repealed "don't ask, don't tell,"
the policy that banned gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the
military, most of the elite universities with no R.O.T.C. programs have
indicated that they are prepared to bring the military onto campus.
But that is no guarantee that such programs will materialize. For one
thing, the military has limited resources for new R.O.T.C. units. For
another, the level of student interest is extremely low, with no more
than 10 to 20 students at these campuses participating in nearby
R.O.T.C. programs now, though that could change if units were more
convenient to campus.
"New schools or universities interested in R.O.T.C. programs will each
be evaluated" with an eye toward "the most efficient use of these
resources," Cynthia Smith, a spokeswoman for the Pentagon, said
Wednesday.
Diane Mazur, a law professor at the University of Florida, a former Air
Force officer and author of "A More Perfect Military," said: "I would be
the most surprised person in the world if the military came back to
Harvard or Yale. The military doesn't have the staffing or the funding,
and it's very expensive to start a new R.O.T.C. detachment."
She added: "Both sides have to dance to make it work, and the military
isn't in a position to expand these programs."
--
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/education/28rotc.xml
Via InstaFetch
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