Anti-military recruitment campaign picking up speed

With recruitment levels falling short for the third month in a row, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Richard Myers has told Congress that the military is on the verge of being dangerously overextended. Recruiters on campuses are getting desperate, suggesting unethical strategies to students who would otherwise be ineligible to join the army.

The battle over military presence on campuses has now reached the Supreme Court, with the justices agreeing Monday to hear a case that will decide whether the military can recruit at federally funded colleges and universities.

Joining students from universities around the country, activists from the Student Commission on Racial Equality and the LGBT Resource Center at UCSB have been embroiled in a battle to get the military off campus. The military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is inconsistent with UC principles of non-discrimination, and the Academic Senate has proposed a resolution that will bar recruiters from UCSB. Read their editorial in today's Santa Barbara News Press:

"The military's 'don't ask don't tell' policy forces a person to suppress and hide her/his identity. Why is an institution of higher education allowing this discriminatory agency to recruit on its campus? UCSB's own nondiscrimination policy states: 'It is the policy of the University not to engage in discrimination against or harassment of any person employed or seeking employment with the University of California on the basis of race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, citizenship, or status as a covered veteran.' This policy must extend to anyone who steps onto campus. Should not UCSB enforce this policy where military recruiting is concerned?"

A town hall meeting on campus military presence will be held today at 3:30 pm in the McCune conference room on the 6th floor of the Humanities and Social Sciences building. The meeting’s outcome is expected to impact voting on the resolution.