Advocates For Columbia ROTC: April 2004

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

The Professor Who Abolished ROTC

14 April 2004 Columbia Spectator article "The Professor Who Abolished ROTC From Columbia". Note: Prof. Lewis Cole says he opposes university credit for courses about the practice of war, but supports credit for courses about military theory.

Friday, April 9, 2004

Congress Pressures Colleges to Accept Military Recruiters

9 April 2004 Columbia Spectator article "Congress Pressures Colleges to Accept Military Recruiters".

Thursday, April 8, 2004

Spectator Letter to the Editor

8 April 2004 Columbia Spectator letter "Racism and Homophobia in ROTC Violate Columbia's Standards of Tolerance" by Joya Banerjee, BC '04

Thursday, April 1, 2004

Possible Return of ROTC

1 April 2004 Columbia Spectator article "Possible Return of ROTC to Campus Sparks Controversy". Note: "I think everybody involved with the proposal is perfectly aware that the law governing participation in the military has to change, and we will be part of that change if we can," said professor of finance and economics Michael Adler, one of the proposal's faculty supporters.

Advocates for ROTC

is an umbrella group for organizations that promote an atmosphere supportive of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps on college campuses.

ROTC was active at all major universities in the United States until the Vietnam War, when it was de-certified by some colleges amid anti-war sentiment. Students at these colleges can take part in ROTC programs at other colleges and receive ROTC scholarships. Although much of the anti-military sentiment of the 1960s has waned, opposition to ROTC continues, centering around the "don't ask, don't tell" law about homosexuality in the armed forces passed by Congress in 1993 and signed into law by President Clinton.

ROTC is a core part of the nation's military training, producing more officers than the Service academies. At colleges without ROTC, students are growing up separated from some of the most important leaders of the future. Gen. David Petraeus, the military commander in Iraq, stresses that ROTC "is very important for our Army and our country" and that many ROTC graduates are "true national assets". President George W. Bush said "It should not be hard for our great schools of learning to find room to honor the service of men and women who are standing up to defend the freedoms that make the work of our universities possible". Both the country and the universities will benefit from having more such leaders.

Advocates For Columbia ROTC