- Uncle Sam Calling Your Kids At Home!
by Rachel Naba
The principal of Mount Anthony Union High School in Bennington, Vermont, was stunned when she opened a letter from military recruiters requesting a list of her students names, addresses and phone numbers. Like most school districts, Mount Anthony Union High School considers such information confidential and does not release this information to outside organizations or businesses. After requesting an explanation for the unusual demand, Principal Sharon Shea-Keneally received yet another blow: she must either supply the United States Military with all contact information for every student and allow them access to facilities, or face a cutoff from federal aid. Like many principals, Shea-Keneally had not been informed that Section 9528 of the No Child Left Behind Act that went into effect late last year grants the Pentagon access to student directories that can be used for military recruiting.
This new policy has many educators grumbling. In the past, the military had access to facilities and student attention in scheduled events. Some schools decided not to allow the military access to their facilities and students: schools in San Francisco and Portland had refused military recruiters on the grounds that the Pentagon discriminated against gays and lesbians. Although the armed forces have surpassed their recruitment goals for the past two years, the military complained that up to 15% of the high schools in this country are ³problem schools². In 1999, the military claims that they were denied access to schools on 19,228 occasions. Now, with this new Act, high schools must allow military recruiters the same campus access that they give to colleges and job recruiters.
Many principals, administrators and parents who are informed about the new policy have begun to ask questions about military use of student information. Military recruiters are seemingly upfront about their agenda - they plan to use the school list to pursue students to enlist in the military. Military officials have pushed for this new policy to help counter a steady decline in the number of people who enquire about listing. The military needs new recruits, and they plan to aggressively hunt for new soldiers among unsuspecting high school students. ³The only thing that will get us to stop contacting the family is if they call their congressman,² Major Johannes Paraan, head US Army recruiter for Vermont and Northeastern New York was quoted as saying, ³Or maybe if the kid died, weıll take them off our list.² Recruiters will use mailings, phone calls and personal visits to aid them in their quest for new bodies, even if parents object.
With a possible war impending, the military has vigorously increased recruiting efforts. It has been reported that the number of high school graduates who said they planned to join the military dropped from 32% to 25% in the last decade. The Pentagon also reports that the cost of recruiting has doubled in the past decade, and they are now searching for new ways of recruiting that are less costly.
Military Marketing Plans
The military is targeting young teenagers, enticing them to join the armed forces with promises of tuition benefits, travel and working experience. They make joining the military seem exciting and filled with action and opportunity. Many parents, however, promptly educate their children about the negative side of joining the military, especially in an atmosphere of the possibility of war, chemical weapons and terrorism. Yet the military needs new bodies, and it has created a system to attract young recruits.
Video Games: ³The US Army has developed a highly realistic and innovative PC video game that puts you inside an Army unit. Youıll face your first tour of duty along with your fellow Soldiers. Gain experience as a Soldier in the US Army, without ever leaving your desk,² states the United States Army website (www.goarmy.com), where visitors can download a free copy of the game that is meant primarily as a marketing tool. Kids can now play a violent and realistic video game from their desktop, joining with fellow ³Soldiers² to attack and kill the enemy. Players are taken through a virtual ³basic training² where they learn military techniques and shooting skills. Once they have passed basic training, players join the war scene and test their new skills.
Parents are complaining that the game is too violent and real, and that it teaches kids to kill. The military responds that the game gives people a chance to see what being in the Army is like before they enlist. The video contains blood and death - popular ingredients for todayıs video game recipes, and it feeds on the players adrenaline. Introduced to the public on the website on Independence Day (July 4), 2002, the game has over 950,000 registered online users. Potential new recruits can also pick up their personal copy through an army recruiting office.
The video game is targeting the militaryıs prime market - teenagers who may be prime for recruiting. It is a free game that is available for the taking, and many of our youth have become hooked on the game. The military has found an effective marketing tool for its agenda - to capture the potential young recruitıs attention with entertainment and drive up recruiting numbers.
School Recruiting - Section 9528 of the No Child Left Behind Act enables military recruiters access to personal information about students, such as addresses and phone numbers. They will use assertive recruiting tactics that involve calling teenagers at home and attempting to spark interest in joining the military. They will offer scholarships and jobs, and attempt to secure a one-on-one appointment with the potential recruit. Prior to this new law, one-third of the nationıs high schools refused recruiters requests for student names or access to campus.
The new policy has caused much debate in the political and educational fields because of privacy issues. Schools normally do not release any information about students unless permission has been granted from the student or parent. Under federal privacy laws, schools may release ³directory information², but must give parents the option of refusing disclosure. Schools have been allowed to decide on their own whether to provide the directory to outside organizations or individuals, and most have opted against it. Now, under the new law, schools are required to provide the information to recruiters if it is requested; to refuse would mean a loss of vital funding for the school. The new law mandates that parents opt out of being on the list rather than opting in, and has left school administrators in an uncomfortable position. ³Student privacy is a big, big issue with schools,² Michael Carr, spokesman for the 38,000 member National Association of Secondary School Principals told the Washing Post. ³There are a lot of people trying to get identities of students - to get to that market.²
Many people see this new law as a glaring contradiction of prior federal laws and as an invasion of studentıs privacy - many of whom are minors. Parents and administrators have also complained that this new policy is also an attack on students educational opportunities, as many young and impressionable students may be tempted by promises of travel and funding.
Parents Be Aware!
There is only one way that a studentıs information will not be shared with military recruiters. The student/parents must declare in writing that they do not want the information released. If they do not file the necessary forms, the school will be required to hand over the information if the military requests it.
The Local Educational Agency (LEA), under the Act, must notify parents of the change in policy through an addendum to the student handbook or by individual letters sent to studentsı homes. The notice must advise the parent and student how to opt out of the public disclosure of directory information and the timeline in which to do so.
Most parents, much less students, read the student handbook given to them each school year. A simple addendum to the handbook will most likely be overlooked by many parents who would consider this new policy an invasion of privacy forced on their minor child. Letters or notices that are mailed or sent home often become lost in the shuffle of papers and may be overlooked.
Section 9528 of the No Child Left Behind Act is a little-known change that has been enacted on our children. Buried in the lawıs 670 pages, the provision may allow unwanted military phone calls, mail correspondence and personal contact unless parents explicitly opt out of the mandatory disclosure.
