COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Counter-Recruitment: General
Recruiting students away from the military
DONNA WINCHESTER, St. Petersburg Times
September 26, 2007
Less than a month after Pinellas school officials gave the all clear,
a local antiwar group is poised to present high school students with
career alternatives to military service.
Members of Veterans for Peace Tampa Bay will begin visiting schools
as early as next week, said spokeswoman Linda Hubner. The first place
they hope to visit is Dixie Hollins High, a school with a large JROTC program.
"Our message to high school students is that there are peaceful ways
of serving their country," said Hubner, a 57-year-old mother of six.
"We want them to know there are pros and cons to many different
careers, and that they do have alternatives. "
Hubner and a dozen other Veterans for Peace members attended two
hours of training last week led by Allan Taylor, a retired lawyer
from Delray Beach. Taylor, 67, has been talking to Palm Beach County
students about alternatives to the military for almost three years
with a group called the Truth Project.
"It's important to go in armed with the facts," Taylor said.
"Remember, you're there to educate students. That's all you're interested in."
Pinellas County is among many districts nationwide that have crafted
an "access to students" policy as more groups fight for time with
students. One reason is a section of the federal No Child Left Behind
Act, which requires public high schools to give military recruiters
the same access to students as colleges and businesses.
The act also provides military recruiters with student records,
including phone numbers and addresses. Districts that refuse to turn
over the information can lose millions in federal aid.
The School Board approved the local access policy in August, but
groups such as Veterans for Peace actually have had the right to
speak to students about alternatives to the military for years,
School Board attorney Jim Robinson said. A 1989 court ruling
established that individuals or groups wishing to present career
alternatives to the military must have the same access to students as
military recruiters, he said.
The district policy also affirms the right of individuals or groups
to present students with "bona fide negative aspects" of military
life, Robinson said.
That means Veterans for Peace members can use facts to point out to
students that they can't quit if they don't like the military and
that they may not get the duty station discussed at the time of enlistment.
One thing they will not be permitted to do, Robinson said, is
denigrate the military.
Longtime Veterans for Peace member and Korean War veteran Dwight
Lawton, 76, says that's not part of the group's agenda.
In fact, Lawton said, he and school officials agreed to discard a
piece of literature that antiwar groups routinely bring into schools.
The pamphlet depicts a skeleton dressed in an officer's uniform.
"We're not going to get into political partisanship, " Lawton said.
"We will not allow individuals to go into the schools with us who
cannot abide by that."
Instead, he said, the group will introduce students to careers in
nursing and public safety as well as postsecondary opportunities at
the Pinellas Technical Education Center and St. Petersburg College.
He and Hubner hope to form an alliance with guidance counselors, who
are outnumbered by Pinellas students 450-1. The group wants to fill
in the gaps in a student's access to career information, Hubner said.
"Students are making life decisions about careers," she said. "They
need to be making the most informed choices that they can."
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fast facts
Some peaceful career alternatives
These are some examples of "careers in peacemaking and social change"
for which Veterans for Peace members plan to provide information:
Artist
Community organizer
Economist
Health professional
Job counselor
Journalist
Legal professional
Lobbyist
Mediator
Microbiologist
Political canvasser
Recycler
Solar installer
Teacher
Union organizer
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