military seeks info from students
[email protected]
BOSTON - A little-noticed provision in a new federal education law is
requiring high schools to hand over to military recruiters some key
information about its juniors and seniors:
name, address and phone number.
The Pentagon says the information will help it recruit young people to defend
their country. But the new law disturbs parents and administrators in some
liberal communities that aren't exactly gung-ho about the armed forces.
Some say the law violates students' privacy and creates a moral dilemma over
the military's ''don't ask, don't tell'' policy on gays.
''I find it appalling that the school is sending out letters to do the job of
the military,'' said Amy Lang, the parent of a student at Cambridge Rindge
and Latin School, where Coke was once banned in a protest against the soda
giant's investments in apartheid South Africa. ''It's clearly an invasion of
my daughter's privacy.''
The No Child Left Behind law, signed last January, pumps billions into
education but also gives military recruiters access to the names, addresses
and phone numbers of students in 22,000 schools. The law also says that
schools must give the military the same access to their campuses that
businesses and college recruiters enjoy.
School systems that fail to comply could lose federal money. The measure also
applies to private schools receiving federal funding. But Quaker schools and
others that have a religious objection to military service can get out of the
requirement.
Students and parents who oppose the law can keep their information from being
turned over to the military, but they must sign and return an ''opt-out''
form.
The Boston school system, which has 7,500 juniors and seniors, included the
opt-out notice in a take-home student handbook, but fewer than a dozen
parents opted out.
So far, 95 percent of the nation's schools are in compliance, said Pentagon
spokeswoman Maj. Sandra Troeber. She would not identify the other schools.
But Education Department spokesman Dan Langan said that the current focus is
on cooperation and that no schools have been sanctioned.
Federal law already requires men to register with the Selective Service
within 30 days of turning 18. The new law, however, enables the Pentagon to
reach potential recruits when they are 15 or 16.
In New York City, Daniel Alterman was taken aback when his 15-year-old son, a
junior at Stuyvesant High, received a recruitment letter.
''Parents are in the dark,'' Alterman said. ''It freaked me out. I didn't
sign up to support the military effort.''
Alterman said after he opted out, his son received another letter, this one
promoting scholarships. ''It was very seductive. They didn't say anything
about risk to personal safety,'' Alterman said.
Among those objecting to the new requirements is the New York City chapter of
the American Civil Liberties Union. Executive director Donna Lieberman said
that the opt-out provision is inadequate and that schools should be doing
more to protect students' privacy.
In a letter last month, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Education
Secretary Rod Paige reminded high school administrators of their duty, and
cited ''the excellent educational opportunities the military affords, as well
as an environment that encourages the development of strong character and
leadership skills.''
The Pentagon said better access to students could also hold down the rising
costs of recruitment. Over the past decade, the cost per recruit has nearly
doubled from $6,500 to $11,600.
Before the law, military recruiters could meet with students in Cambridge and
Northampton on campus only if the student sought them out, and then only at a
meeting attended by a guidance counselor. But Cambridge held a military
career fair at the high school a month ago.
''It's a vast departure from the way we've done business,'' said Donna
Harlan, an associate superintendent in the Northampton school system. ''We
are not in the business of giving lists of names of kids to anybody. That was
tough. The issue was if we were to receive federal or state money, we had to
comply with the law.''
The law also spelled the end of a 6-year ban on military recruiting on campus
in Portland, Ore. After contending that the ''don't ask, don't tell'' policy
discriminates against gays, the school system now gives recruiters a shot at
its 16,000 students.
In Massachusetts, Framingham High senior April Middleton decided over lunch
recently that maybe the military is in her future after talking with Army
National Guard Sgt. Louis Perrin, a recruiter who visited the cafeteria.
Middleton, 18, said she plans to enlist after she graduates, and the prospect
of war has not scared her off. ''Sometimes you've got to make sacrifices,''
she said.
Sometimes, however, recruiters battle hostility.
''One teacher said we were trying to brainwash kids. All we were doing was
handing out pencils,'' Perrin said. ''We're not trying to invade anybody's
privacy. We're just trying to protect their freedoms.''
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
requiring high schools to hand over to military recruiters some key
information about its juniors and seniors:
name, address and phone number.
The Pentagon says the information will help it recruit young people to defend
their country. But the new law disturbs parents and administrators in some
liberal communities that aren't exactly gung-ho about the armed forces.
Some say the law violates students' privacy and creates a moral dilemma over
the military's ''don't ask, don't tell'' policy on gays.
''I find it appalling that the school is sending out letters to do the job of
the military,'' said Amy Lang, the parent of a student at Cambridge Rindge
and Latin School, where Coke was once banned in a protest against the soda
giant's investments in apartheid South Africa. ''It's clearly an invasion of
my daughter's privacy.''
The No Child Left Behind law, signed last January, pumps billions into
education but also gives military recruiters access to the names, addresses
and phone numbers of students in 22,000 schools. The law also says that
schools must give the military the same access to their campuses that
businesses and college recruiters enjoy.
School systems that fail to comply could lose federal money. The measure also
applies to private schools receiving federal funding. But Quaker schools and
others that have a religious objection to military service can get out of the
requirement.
Students and parents who oppose the law can keep their information from being
turned over to the military, but they must sign and return an ''opt-out''
form.
The Boston school system, which has 7,500 juniors and seniors, included the
opt-out notice in a take-home student handbook, but fewer than a dozen
parents opted out.
So far, 95 percent of the nation's schools are in compliance, said Pentagon
spokeswoman Maj. Sandra Troeber. She would not identify the other schools.
But Education Department spokesman Dan Langan said that the current focus is
on cooperation and that no schools have been sanctioned.
Federal law already requires men to register with the Selective Service
within 30 days of turning 18. The new law, however, enables the Pentagon to
reach potential recruits when they are 15 or 16.
In New York City, Daniel Alterman was taken aback when his 15-year-old son, a
junior at Stuyvesant High, received a recruitment letter.
''Parents are in the dark,'' Alterman said. ''It freaked me out. I didn't
sign up to support the military effort.''
Alterman said after he opted out, his son received another letter, this one
promoting scholarships. ''It was very seductive. They didn't say anything
about risk to personal safety,'' Alterman said.
Among those objecting to the new requirements is the New York City chapter of
the American Civil Liberties Union. Executive director Donna Lieberman said
that the opt-out provision is inadequate and that schools should be doing
more to protect students' privacy.
In a letter last month, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Education
Secretary Rod Paige reminded high school administrators of their duty, and
cited ''the excellent educational opportunities the military affords, as well
as an environment that encourages the development of strong character and
leadership skills.''
The Pentagon said better access to students could also hold down the rising
costs of recruitment. Over the past decade, the cost per recruit has nearly
doubled from $6,500 to $11,600.
Before the law, military recruiters could meet with students in Cambridge and
Northampton on campus only if the student sought them out, and then only at a
meeting attended by a guidance counselor. But Cambridge held a military
career fair at the high school a month ago.
''It's a vast departure from the way we've done business,'' said Donna
Harlan, an associate superintendent in the Northampton school system. ''We
are not in the business of giving lists of names of kids to anybody. That was
tough. The issue was if we were to receive federal or state money, we had to
comply with the law.''
The law also spelled the end of a 6-year ban on military recruiting on campus
in Portland, Ore. After contending that the ''don't ask, don't tell'' policy
discriminates against gays, the school system now gives recruiters a shot at
its 16,000 students.
In Massachusetts, Framingham High senior April Middleton decided over lunch
recently that maybe the military is in her future after talking with Army
National Guard Sgt. Louis Perrin, a recruiter who visited the cafeteria.
Middleton, 18, said she plans to enlist after she graduates, and the prospect
of war has not scared her off. ''Sometimes you've got to make sacrifices,''
she said.
Sometimes, however, recruiters battle hostility.
''One teacher said we were trying to brainwash kids. All we were doing was
handing out pencils,'' Perrin said. ''We're not trying to invade anybody's
privacy. We're just trying to protect their freedoms.''
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]