The Defense Department has announced a new get-tough policy with colleges and universities that interfere with the work of military recruiters and Reserve Officer Training Corps programs.
Under rules that will take effect April 28, defense officials said they want the exact same access to student directories that is provided to all other prospective employers.
Students can opt out of having their information turned over to the military only if they opt out of having their information provided to all other recruiters, but schools cannot have policies that exclude only the military, defense officials said in a March 28 notice of the new policy in the Federal Register.
The Defense Department “will honor only those student ‘opt-outs’ from the disclosure of directory information that are even-handedly applied to all prospective employers seeking information for recruiting purposes,” the notice says...
The new policy is, in part, the result of a 2006 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the federal government’s ability to use funding as a means of forcing equal access for military recruiters and ROTC units on campuses.
See, my leftie friends? It's all about equal access. You believe in equal access, don't you? You think the federal government should have whatever power it wants over citizens, don't you?
I think if the university has an optional opt-out and the decision is left in the students' hands, where it should be, the government should respect that. I personally have looked into military service and ROTC programs and have determined that I am not interested, and because of some list I'm on I get a call every couple of months from a recruiter who just ends up wasting his and my time. I also get things in the mail wasting ink, paper, and postage and again the military's time. The problem with this whole issue is that if its the students' choice the government should respect that choice and stop wasting everyone's time.
ReplyDeleteFirst time I've heard you speak out against a government program, Ronnie. Perhaps this is the start of a new trend :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd on a completely separate note, email me and let me know how you're doing, what classes you're taking this year, etc.