From Draft NOtices, January-March 2020
Truth in Recruitment’s Summit on Youth and the Military, Santa Maria, California
— Kate Connell
To raise awareness about the overwhelming military presence on high school campuses, Truth in Recruitment (TIR), a project of the Santa Barbara Friends Meeting, hosted a Summit on Youth and the Military last October at the Santa Maria Public Library. Topics covered included military sexual assault, deportation of military veterans, and the Selective Service System (SSS).
TIR has heard from many parents who are shocked when a letter arrives ordering their senior high school student to register with the Selective Service System for a potential military draft. Now that women can also serve in combat, in the future they may also be required to register. This applies to both documented and undocumented immigrants.
Enlisting is no guarantee of U.S. citizenship, but failure to register with SSS before the age of 26 can temporarily bar naturalization in the future. This is a particular concern in Santa Maria, a town with a large immigrant community. It is only one example of how the presence of the military is pervasive in our society, yet its impact is particularly felt by underserved populations and people of color. As we also made clear at our summit, schools that receive federal funds must give military recruiters the same school access that is provided to employer and college representatives. Again, low-income people are frequent targets.
In the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District, TIR has been advocating for regulations on military visits that are equal to those for colleges and other educational programs. A Freedom of Information Act report revealed that the United States Marine Corps visited one high school in Santa Maria, Ernest Righetti, over 70 times in one year. Regarding a visit to one of these schools, the Marine recruiter noted, “Coordinated well with the Principal and Assistant Principal, both are very receptive to the United States Marine Corps and open up their school to us on a daily basis if needed” (emphasis added).
Jenny, a junior at Santa Maria High School (SMHS) who co-chaired the summit, wrote about how this has affected her:
I am the daughter of field-working immigrants, a student at Santa Maria High, and an advocate for educational rights. Before knowing about Truth in Recruitment, I began to notice that there was a strong military presence at my school. Why is it that they’re always here, and yet we don’t get people presenting about careers or colleges or vocational schools?
I remember being a freshman at a meeting we had with the SMHS principal,” Jenny continued. “I expressed my concerns but felt uncomfortable as my principal, an ex-military man, put me on the spot with questions about why I felt the way I did about military presence at our school. As if it was totally normal to have recruiters and presenters in our classrooms multiple times each week.
Students reported that at a recent career fair this October, all branches of the military were represented, but only one local community college -- Allan Hancock -- had a table. No four-year universities or colleges were present. Jenny’s reaction: “I want a college-going culture where we are encouraged to further our education no matter what our background is.”
Besides the overrepresentation of the military at career fairs, another major issue with recruiters’ extensive presence on campus is the frequent violation of minors’ privacy rights. Parents can sign a document to prevent their student’s information being released to military recruiters, but one Santa Maria parent noted that the Army got such information through student sign ups at a career day raffle. These tactics of collecting contact information directly from students undermine a family’s right to opt out.
Another SMHS student, Alicia, commented:
I was the emcee for the Summit. We started off by having an equity walk led by Jenny. While she was doing the activity, I noticed how students and adults saw more military recruiters than colleges in high schools. This made me realize that nothing has changed since adults went to high school! Recruiters are mainly recruiting students that are low-income because students are scared; they can’t go to college because of money. Military recruiters keep telling us about the ‘good’ in the military.
The Summit helped me understand the importance of youth having a voice and to not be afraid to speak up about the problems we see in the community. There are more alternatives for youth than going to the military. The speakers told us what really happens in the military. I would like the community to support youth and families by speaking up, going to board meetings and parent meetings.
Her fellow student, Jenny, added, “I know that TIR will continue to push for a policy that regulates recruiters at our schools in Santa Maria. I will continue to be part of that fight,” she concludes, “and, hopefully, one day we will change the culture of our country.”
More information on the Summit and Truth in Recruitment’s work in Santa Barbara County can be found at https://truthinrecruitment.org/blog/
Kate Connell is the Director of Truth in Recruitment, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 805-708-8058
This article is from Draft NOtices, the newsletter of the Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft (http://www.comdsd.org/index.php/draft-notices).
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