Last week, White House and Pentagon officials denied allegations of a plan to reinstate a military draft to aid action in Iraq - an idea that has some AU students worried.
There is currently a bill in both the Senate and House of Representatives that suggest the re-introduction of a draft. The bill, entitled the "Universal National Service Act of 2003," was introduced in the House by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and in the Senate by Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.)
The bill calls for "all young persons in the United States, including women to perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security."
However, AU freshman Laura Kaplan disagrees with the draft.
"I think it would be completely ridiculous to have a draft," Kaplan said. "There are people who enlisted freely in the military who don't even want to be over there right now."
Currently the Selective Service System registers all American men between the ages of 18 and 25. Women are not allowed to register.
The draft was abandoned in 1973 as the Vietnam War wound down. The agency insists that there are no plans to put it back in place.
"Selective Service is not getting ready to conduct a draft for the U.S. Armed Forces," the Selective Service Web site said. "Both the president and the Secretary of Defense have stated on more than one occasion that there is no need for a draft for the War on Terrorism or any likely contingency, such as Iraq."
Despite this, some students are worried.
"I know some of my friends who are really worried about being drafted and pulled out of school here" freshman Jessica Kling said.
Senior Fametta Sawyer said she had heard nothing about the draft in the news.
Although the BBC was covering the possibility of an American draft last November, mainstream American news sources did not begin talking about the possibility until this past week. The majority of the outcry against the draft has come from online forums and groups, which have brought the issue to the public's attention.
Kaplan thinks the draft had not been receiving much attention because the government was trying to keep the news from the public for as long as possible.
"I think the possibility of a draft would affect the way a lot of people would vote," Kaplan said.
Kling is brushing off the talk as gossip.
"I think any time we get involved in some kind of conflict the issue of the draft will come up" she said. "Perhaps the media should have made a greater issue of it, but I think it's also the responsibility of the government to inform people that it's a real possibility."
Sawyer said she thought the media had not mentioned the draft as a way of saving face for the United States. She said that if it looked as though Americans were losing the war badly enough to need to make fighting mandatory, the soldiers would probably lose morale and other countries would probably lose respect for the United States.
As women, Sawyer, Kaplan and Kling all have different mindsets as to what they would do if drafted.
Sawyer said she would not be able to fight for medical reasons, but even under normal circumstances she would be hesitant to serve her country.
Kling said that she did not agree with current military policies in Iraq but would be willing to fight.
Kaplan said that under no circumstances would she pick up a weapon. If need be, she would move to Canada to avoid the draft.
However, the group Veterans for Peace predicts that if there was a draft now, it would be much harder to dodge than during the Vietnam era. The group's Web site said that students would not be exempt and it is possible that young men would have to register with the Selective Service to get a driver's license.
