Advocates For Columbia ROTC: October 2005

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Columbia Plays Dirty Pool

25 October 2005 Columbia Spectator column "Columbia Plays Dirty Pool" by John Mateus. Note: A Columbia Law student calls interference with military interviews, which blocked him from being interviewed, "underhanded and sabotage" and criticizes the unwillingness of Columbia to stop the interference. See also responses by Karyn Lukoff, Michelle Rutherford and Cuauhtemoc Ortega.

Friday, October 21, 2005

Columbia University Senate "Minutes of September 16, 2005"

21 October 2005 Columbia University Senate "Minutes of September 16, 2005". Note: Senator Paul Duby reported on the discussions at the June Columbia University Trustees meeting about the ROTC issue. When "a Trustee asked if there was anything else the Trustees were expected to do on this subject; Sen. Duby said Provost Alan Brinkley answered in one word: No". The minutes also note that "the Task Force made some recommendations for improving conditions for Columbia students who are pursuing ROTC off campus, at Manhattan College or Fordham. One was to provide more assistance in the form of transportation, or maybe a small office on the Columbia campus. Another was to assure that any students barred from ROTC because of their sexual preference would be eligible for equivalent financial support from Columbia. Sen. Duby said he and Sen. Applegate would discuss these issues with the provost."

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Hypocrisy 101: The Academy and Military Recruiters

12 October 2005 American Council of Trustees and Alumni press release "Hypocrisy 101: The Academy and Military Recruiters". Note: ACTA lists the federal funds at risk under the Solomon Amendment. Of the listed colleges barring ROTC, Columbia leads with $457 million at risk

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