Letters to the Editor

Argument against military recruiters inaccurate

Sep 20, 2007 1:15 PM

To the Editor:

I am disappointed that my name was misspelled in the article “Delegates vote to oppose supplying military recruiters with student information” [Aug. 9 issue], which is symptomatic of the inaccuracies expressed at the [June 13] Delegate Assembly about campus recruiting.

I said that high school counselors routinely distribute and explain the “opt out” form that the student and parent or guardian can sign and return to the guidance department, which then forwards it to the armed services.

Any student subsequently contacted by the armed forces can have this addressed and sanctions will follow.

If the delegates knew and understood this option, the vote may have been different.

[UFT Special Representative] Leo Casey alleged that Title I schools are targeted because they receive federal aid. Every public school in one way or another is on the list. Also, federal money is supplied to schools of many different titles.

Schools receiving federal funds are public and serve the public. The preamble of our Constitution puts public safety as the first priority. What justification do we have in accepting public funds while denying public responsibility?

The names and addresses of our students are public record. If our absurd resolution did in fact pass Congress and became law, the government could obtain this information anyway under FOIA [Freedom Of Information Act].

There was an implication that most of the “poor kids” victimized by recruiter access wind up in the armed services because they have no other option. This is absurd. If a person is poor and can read and write and do basic math, they are entitled to an array of federal guaranteed student loans.

Another implication is that most of the “poor” in military service (which remember is voluntary) are minorities from the inner city. This is not the case. Close to 70 percent of our fighting forces in Iraq are Caucasian, most from small towns, farms and suburbs, many from unionized blue-collar families who had also served, others from lower- to middle-class homes also outside the cities.

Most service men and women serve with pride, not from economic coercion. For them military service still carries the luster of courage, loyalty and love of one’s family, community and household.

Mr. Casey, as a full-time staff member of the union and executive board member ... know your facts, because one day, if we follow your path, none of us will have the freedom to voice their opinion.

Jerry (Gerard) Frohnhoefer, Aviation HS