Advocates For Columbia ROTC: The ROTC Debate

Sunday, October 12, 2008

The ROTC Debate

12 October Barnard Bulletin opinion article "The ROTC Debate" by Sigourney LaBarre. Note: LaBarre quotes various arguments on the ROTC issue, mostly against ROTC, including the contention by Rahel Aima, CC ’10 and leader of Students for a Democratic Society, that ROTC should be opposed "not only because of the military’s discriminatory policy against homosexuals, but also because of its discrimination against all minorities".

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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

Sunday, October 12, 2008

The ROTC Debate

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Advocates for ROTC