COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Military Recruiting: JROTC/ROTC
The Militarization of Mission Bay High School
Paula Hoffman, Draft NOtices
December 2007
During
the summer, while most students, parents and teachers were busy doing
other things, the principal at Mission Bay High School, together with
the San Diego Board of Education, were hurriedly going through the
motions of approving Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers Training
Corps for the Pacific Beach school. At both the July 23 and August 7
board of education meetings, the issue was not even listed as an agenda
item, but rather buried in a list of budgetary points. The situation
was only given any attention at all because John de Beck, the school
board member representing the neighborhood around the school, had
questions regarding the cost of the program.
Learning of the plan to sneak in MCJROTC, Project YANO attempted to get
out the word. Despite the short notice, community members, parents and
students arrived to speak out at the July 23 board meeting. Nine spoke
against JROTC, making many important points to the unreceptive and
nonobjective board (several board members have military connections
themselves). For example, Pentagon-produced textbooks do not go through
the standard review process and have been found to contain many
ethnocentric stereotypes and subjective generalizations. JROTC
instructors are not even required to have a college degree, and none of
the strict new credential rules that other teachers are being subjected
to under the No Child Left Behind Act apply to the military
instructors. Also, money used to finance JROTC siphons away funds that
could be used for other badly needed programs. JROTC is not a college
prep class, but rather a P.E. credit. Students, already exposed to too
much hate and violence, will be taught to use weapons.
Eight spoke in favor of JROTC, including the parent/teacher
organization president, an area superintendent, and the since fired
district chief administrative officer, retired Rear Admiral Jose L.
Betancourt, who was convicted recently of trying to influence the
awarding of a military contract when he joined a private company soon
after retiring from the Navy. Given extra time to speak at the end of
the discussion, MBHS Principal Seelos and her head counselor claimed
that the program would help “at risk” students, when in
fact the program attempts to filter out students with behavior and
academic problems. Also, in referring to a pro-JROTC study from 1999,
Seelos selectively highlighted data that deemphasized the military
recruiting function of JROTC, while ignoring the fact that 44% of the
cadets surveyed in the study had indicated they planned to join the
military after high school. Seelos also announced that she had actively
lobbied the Marine Corps and was proud of the fact that Mission Bay
would be the first school in the district to have this program (some
schools in the district have Army, Navy or Air Force JROTC).
Two weeks later, at the August 7 board meeting, there were again many
speakers opposed to the MBHS plan. Since Principal Seelos was not even
present at the meeting, she probably knew that it was a done deal. And
it was. Silently, with no response to the speakers, the board voted 4-1
to approve Marine Corps JROTC for Mission Bay. Only John de Beck voted
against it and expressed his concerns about sending our young people to
Iraq.
The week before school opened, when students were arriving over a
three-day period to see their tentative schedules, community activists
and students picketed outside the school and handed out a flier titled
“Students Not Soldiers.” Many arriving parents were
receptive and appreciated receiving a different perspective regarding
JROTC. Many were concerned that their children may have been assigned
to the program. Several students claimed that they had been placed in
JROTC without being consulted and were going to ask to be taken out.
When a TV news crew arrived, Ms. Seelos commented to the camera,
“It’s just another choice.” Yet there are serious
questions about how students were assigned, whether they understand
what the program is all about, and whether other important programs at
the school have been sacrificed in order to accommodate JROTC. Forty
busloads of students are now brought to Mission Bay High from other
parts of San Diego each day. Seventy-five percent of the student body
consists of students of color. Many are immigrants. Many would give
anything to be accepted by U.S. American mainstream society —
just what recruiters and JROTC instructors are looking for.
During the first two weeks of class, it appeared that enrollment in
JROTC was quite a bit lower than Seelos had hoped. She had bragged to
the board earlier that nearly 100 students had expressed
interest. Evidently, some of those students changed their minds
and the count appeared to be about 65. Possibly the pickets and fliers
had some effect. Perhaps peer pressure or parental pressure was strong,
or perhaps informed students were making better decisions. We can only
hope that numbers do not reach the required 100 students needed to keep
the program going!
Informed and concerned students are beginning to organize and spread
the word about boycotting JROTC. They are attempting to identify those
classmates who have been placed into JROTC and may not have been given
the “choice” that Principal Seelos alludes to. “No to
JROTC” t-shirts are being printed. Another hope is that concerned
and angry parents will come forward. Parents believe that our schools
are doing everything in the best interest of their children.
Unfortunately, most are completely unaware of the intense recruiting
that goes on daily and of the fact that their children are being pushed
into JROTC.
This archive consists of a topically organized selection of
articles culled by members of the Counter-Recruitment List Serve from printed
publications and web sites. The archive is not complete. We have chosen
material relevant to the work of