The Fight For ROTC

29 November 2008 Parade Magazine article "The Fight For ROTC".  The article notes that "Although more than 600 colleges in the U.S. allow ROTC programs on campus, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Brown, Tufts, Stanford, and the University of Chicago have maintained the bans they began in protest of the Vietnam War...   “The seven schools who exclude ROTC produce many of our leaders, yet their students have the least contact with the military,” says Sean Wilkes (Columbia University ‘06), chair of Advocates for Columbia ROTC."

Alumni Org Calls For Return Of ROTC

2 October 2008 Harvard Crimson article "Alumni Org Calls For Return Of ROTC".  Note:  The American Council of Trustees and Alumni sent letters to the governing boards of Harvard, Columbia, Yale, Brown and Stanford calling on them to reconsider their bans on ROTC.  "Paul E. Mawn ’63, the chairman of Advocates for Harvard ROTC and a retired Navy captain, said in an interview yesterday that ACTA “may not understand what the realistic target is” and that the goal should be official recognition" by the Harvard Corporation, "not the opening of a ROTC branch at Harvard.  “The reality is that there are so few students at ROTC anyway, so tomorrow if Harvard begged and pleaded the Pentagon to bring it back on campus, they wouldn’t,” Mawn said. “What has evolved around the country is core sites like MIT that service several different schools. MIT has the critical mass and good facilities and classrooms for the courses and drilling and other activities. There is no critical mass at Harvard.”".  Mawn called upon Harvard to pay the overhead fee for Harvard students taking ROTC courses at MIT, currently paid by the alumni-funded "Friends of Harvard ROTC Trust".

Letter from American Council of Trustees and Alumni

26 September 2008 Letter from American Council of Trustees and Alumni president Ann D. Neal to the trustees of Columbia University calling for the trustees to reconsider Columbia's ban on ROTC.  Similar letters were sent to the governing boards of Harvard, Yale, Brown and Stanford.

ROTC and the Ivies: The presidential candidates agree that the de facto ban by elite universities should end

13 September 2008 Washington Post editorial "ROTC and the Ivies: The presidential candidates agree that the de facto ban by elite universities should end."  Note:  The Post observes that "the restoration of ROTC at the Ivies might help reconnect two important American subcultures -- elite academia and the military officer corps -- that have grown apart"

Bring back ROTC

27 May 2007 Washington Times editorial "Bring back ROTC".  Note:  "It's time for Harvard, Columbia, Yale and other schools to heed what President Bush said last week: "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." It's time to give ROTC a chance."

Gates Commissions ROTC Cadets at White House

17 May 2007 United States American Forces Press Service article "Gates Commissions ROTC Cadets at White House".  Note:  "A change in the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act allows the president, vice president or secretary of defense to administer the oath of commission or enlistment".

White House Commissioning Ceremony

17 May 2007 United States Department of Defense photos "White House Commissioning Ceremony".  Note:  One of the photos is of U.S. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with graduating Harvard ROTC student Erik Sand and his mother.  More photos here and here.

Bush Assails Colleges That Shun ROTC Units

17 May 2007 Chronicle of Higher Education News Blog item "Bush Assails Colleges That Shun ROTC Units".  Note:  The Chronicle notes that in addition to colleges that ban ROTC there are colleges where there is no ROTC program because the Pentagon concluded that there were "poor prospects of finding good recruits".

Bush Rebukes Universities On ROTC Ban

17 May 2007 New York Sun article "Bush Rebukes Universities On ROTC Ban".  Note:  "Yesterday's ceremony featured a diverse group of cadets from all 50 states and included a graduate student at Columbia, Bret Woellner, who was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army.  The president's statement took officials at a few leading universities aback. Spokesmen at NYU and Harvard and Yale universities, which also do not offer ROTC on campus, did not respond publicly.  Riaz Zaidi, president of Columbia's Hamilton Society, a military group, said the president's words were "gratifying."  Mr. Zaidi, a cadet in the Fordham ROTC program, said that while he thought the military should reconsider the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, Columbia should reinstate the officer-training program regardless."  See response by Paul E. Mawn, head of Advocates for Harvard ROTC

Indoctrinate-U

16 March 2007 film "Indoctrinate-U".  Note:  According to the film maker Evan Coyne Maloney, "about 5 minutes or so in the film" is material dealing with ROTC "near the end of the film. A number of people have told us they feel it is the most infuriating footage in the film." "The segment discusses both ROTC and military recruiters on campus, and the various efforts to bar them from campus. We have footage from San Francisco State, U.C. Berkeley, Columbia and Hobart. U.C. Santa Cruz, Yale.... We get right inside the protests themselves, some of which were quite nasty. All of this is discussed in the context of what sorts of views are welcome on campus (Ward Churchill, for example) and what is not (quite literally, the American flag, which was actually removed from a number of campuses immediately following the September 11th attacks). It packs quite an emotionally powerful punch."