Dear Editor,
I'd like to make some clarifications in the debate over the banning of military recruiters from American University.ÿ Firstly, there is a distinct difference between active-duty recruiters dispatched by the various branches of the military who promote enlistment in the military and student-organized recruitment for ROTC programs.ÿ Traditional military recruiters, professional recruiters sent by their branch of the military to recruit new soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, are paid to sign up new recruits; it's their primary job.ÿ
Joining the military through one of these recruiters is akin to being hired by a company, as you are signing an employment contract with the military once you join up and are thereafter paid and employed by the government.ÿ However, student-organized ROTC recruitment is very different.ÿ When ROTC students table in MGC or elsewhere for recruitment purposes, they are encouraging students to consider the opportunities that would be made available
ÿ to them by joining ROTC and are also looking to answer any questions prospective students may have.ÿ These ROTC students are in no position to "hire" new students, offer scholarships, guarantee enrollment in ROTC programs, etc., and have no say what so ever over which potential applicants would be admitted into an ROTC program and which applicants would not.ÿ Furthermore, even if new students are admitted into an ROTC program, a wholly separate process that is not influenced by the students doing the recruiting, there is no guarantee of earning a commission and becoming an active duty officer.ÿ Only when students earn their commission through the completion of their respective ROTC program do they become an employee of the United States military subject to all the rules and regulations that apply.ÿ This distinction is important because it puts ROTC students tabling for their respective programs in a different category than traditional military recruiters which I believe sho
ÿuld set they apart from AU's recent ban.ÿ Because these ROTC students are not military employers themselves nor are they employees of the military, they are in no way forced or obligated to recruit based on any institutionalized rules of discrimination the military has in place (such as banning military members from being openly homosexual), and denying these AU students the use of university resources for the promotion of their perfectly legitimate, sanctioned organization is unjust, unfair, and should not be upheld.
Adam Dunn
Junior, SIS
