Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft (COMD)

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From Draft NOtices, October-December 2021

Ethnic Studies: Take One

— Isidro Ortiz, PHD

The late 1960s and early ‘70s witnessed widespread calls for ethnic studies in higher education. Across the country, these calls translated into the establishment of ethnic studies departments and programs, such as the Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies at San Diego State University. Like other units of its kind, this department has served as a vehicle for unprecedented instruction, pathbreaking scholarship, and community engagement. Its institutionalization promoted the democratization of higher education. 

Almost 50 years after the movement for ethnic studies in higher education emerged, one of the most significant developments in educational circles has been the rise of a movement for ethnic studies in K-12 schools. The movement has encompassed educators, students, and members of the community at large. It has reflected the ethnic and racial diversity of today’s schools and promises to continue to bridge the boundaries that have existed among communities.

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From Draft NOtices, October-December 2021

An Undiscussed Consequence of Expanded Draft Registration

— Rick Jahnkow

The most immediate danger of expanding draft registration to women is not, as some people think, an increased likelihood of a draft. The chance of that happening anytime in the near future continues to be remote. It wasn’t even on the table for serious government consideration after 9/11, or during the multiple U.S. troop deployments to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

A much more imminent danger is the actions that will be taken in schools to convince the female half of the 18-year-old population to join males in registering with Selective Service.

In the 1980s, we saw how relatively low rates of male draft registration in some parts of the country plagued Selective Service. The agency would issue press releases claiming that young men were overwhelmingly showing their patriotic willingness to submit their names and contact information for the sake of national readiness, but then the media would often report that actual numbers of registrants were below the stated expectations of Selective Service. The embarrassed draft agency had to come up with an excuse for the dearth of registration enthusiasm, and the best it could come up with was that there was a simple lack of awareness among young men. This was despite millions of dollars spent on Selective Service registration promotions and the enormous amount of media coverage devoted to the issue. And when the first registration resister trials were initiated to “send a message” about the risks of non-compliance, we learned in California that the state’s registration rate went down!

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From Draft NOtices, October-December 2021

Women Will Be Required to Register for the Military Draft

The U.S. Congress is in the final stages of approving changes to the Military Selective Service Act that would expand draft registration to include women. Language that would do this was inserted in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed by the House of Representatives in September. An amendment that would have terminated draft registration and the Selective Service System was ruled out of order and, therefore, not debated or voted on.

The Senate will pass its version of the NDAA later in 2021. It is expected that it will contain the same expansion of registration to women. After going to a joint conference committee to resolve any House vs. Senate differences, the bill will go to President Biden for his signature. One year after the enactment of the NDAA, Biden would be authorized to issue an order to begin the registration of women. It could come as early as December 2022.

Some details are still unclear, such as exactly when the first women would have to begin registering with Selective Service. It has been speculated that it would most likely begin in 2023 with individuals who were born in 2005. This could be delayed if Selective Service needs more time to prepare to process the additional registrations. The process could begin with individual women registering on an ongoing basis as they turn 18, as is required of males, or it could be organized with a large-scale registration startup and deadline for an entire age group, as was done when male registration was restarted in 1980.

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Ninth CIRCUIT COURT RULING: CONFRONTING MILITARISM BY USING EQUAL ACCESS TO HIGH SCHOOLS

When the military comes to your local high school, you have a legal right to give students an opposing view. This has been the position taken by federal district courts in Florida, Pennsylvania and Illinois and two federal appellate courts. The most broadly-worded decision came from a case that COMD took to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the 1980s. Here is the background:

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