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Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
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Student activists getting more organized
Monday 19 March @ 10:54:08 |
 BY PHIL WILLKIE
At a St. Paul school board meeting a few months ago, student activists from St. Paul's Central High School held a mass speak-out against military recruiters, and demanded that students be allowed to have anti-recruitment information available to all students. The activists are all members of a group called Youth Against War and Racism (YAWR). At the meeting, School Board member Al Oertwig said, "The students were realistic in their demands. They know we have to provide access to military recruiters or we will lose federal funding under provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act." At this time, though, it is unclear whether the School Board will leave the military recruitment issue up to individual schools in the district, or take action on the issue itself.
 YAWR members at Bloomington High School ran into a dispute with school administrators last month, when one student was suspended and others admonished for participating in a lunch room antiwar demonstration. Last year, Youth Against War and Racism organized citywide walkouts of public schools to protest the war and the presence of military recruiters.
Following is a sample of comments from YAWR student activists and others at the mass speak-out:
Shane Davis, a senior at Central, suggested the recruiters should not be allowed to come to their school more often than colleges and corporations that recruit during "career-day events."
Louis Ries said the recruiters who set up outside the lunchroom mislead students about college benefits. She also pointed out that 70 percent of those recruited never receive college tuition. "We don't allow the boy scouts because of their discriminatory policy against gays but the military has a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy--which legitimizes discrimination against gay and lesbian people."
Elena Dahlager demanded the military give the school at least a seven-day notice so YAWR members have time to set up a table next to the military recruiters.
Anna Hedenstrom said the military has a history of racism in the way they view Arabs, and that the recruiters intentionally target people of lower classes.
Willie Jacobson pointed out that 20 percent of those recruited by the military do not receive honorable discharges. In that way, many lose the benefits promised to them by recruiters.
Donald Hedstrom told how a military recruiter called him several times before he finally got him to stop calling. The recruiters get the lists of students to make unsolicited calls. Hedstrom said, "Recruiters use pushy underhanded tactics. They need to be in a place where school officials can supervise them.
Several adults of the Vietnam era were on hand to recall their military experiences. Some of them were parents of Central High students. One reported that a recruiter told him he would never be sent abroad. That promise was later broken when he was sent a war zone.
David Harnus, an Air Force doctor from 1965-1967 and a former member of the Red Wing, Minn., School Board, said military recruiters are under pressure to maintain a quota of recruit for each month. He said military recruiters would attend school sports events to try to befriend recruits.
Two military recruiters sat in the back of the room without making any comments. One student observed she was not surprised by their presence. She also thought they would never speak at a public forum to counter allegations made by students. "They want to appear to be nice guys," she said. ||
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