Tempers flare at talk on recruiting

Military officers, parents debate

When she spoke, the audience gasped. The woman, a military recruiter, appeared suddenly at the back of the room where a public discussion was going on to find ways to stop military recruiters like her from making frequent visits to area high schools.

Wearing a Marine uniform, her hair pulled back neatly in a bun, Capt. Rosanna Reyes' voice shook with emotion as she tried to be heard.

"I joined to serve my country," she said. "We want to give students the opportunity to see recruiters."

The stunned 50 or so people who'd gathered Thursday night at the Thousand Oaks Public Library to hear a discussion about whether military recruitment in the high schools is fair and ethical responded by shouting out their own thoughts.

A gray-haired man stood and accused Reyes of being arrogant and condescending.

Two men began shouting at one another when one said he believed wartime killing in Iraq is akin to a gangster drive-by killing.

Several residents spoke up to say the discussion that night should not be about the Bush administration, the war in Iraq or being anti-military.

"I don't want to be called 'anti-military' because I believe that is a label that is used to silence those who are just concerned," said Charlene Pizzadili of Simi Valley. "I object to a large military presence on campus because I don't feel a child of 17 or 18 really understands what happens when you go into the military."

The reason the residents are up in arms about military recruitment in the schools is because of a provision in the No Child Left Behind Act that says schools must either hand over to the military the names, addresses and telephone numbers of their students -- typically juniors and seniors -- or they can forget about getting federal money.

Parents can sign "opt out" forms and give it to their districts stating that they do not want their children's private information to be given to the military.

Only a small percentage of the students are returning opt-out forms, according to Michael Cervantes, an Army veteran with the Ventura County Veterans for Peace. Cervantes said he looked at the number of forms returned by juniors and seniors at Camarillo, Channel Islands, Oxnard and Pacifica high schools and in all cases fewer than 10 percent of students returned opt-out forms.

Cervantes is campaigning against military recruiting in local schools, having been recruited himself during high school to fight in the Army in Vietnam.

One of the primary concerns residents attending Thursday's discussion mentioned was that the military recruiters' presence in the schools is becoming increasingly frequent.

Newbury Park resident Percy Severn's comments elicited applause when she spoke.

"The fact that the military is in our schools on a regular basis to me is outrageous!" she said. "They should never be allowed on the campus unless it's career day."

By law, the time given to military recruiters to be in high schools is supposed to be equal to what college recruiters get.

Parents need to be aware of that law, said Arlene Inouye, who spoke on behalf of the Los Angeles-based Coalition Against Militarism in Our Schools.

Also, Inouye said, students need to be educated about the realities of the military.

"Student empowerment is important, along with parent empowerment," she said.

To meet that end, a youth-led movement called Operation Opt Out is afoot in Oxnard.

The group Arts for Action has come up with poetry contests that involve students writing about their military recruiting experiences, films and a poster contest, said Michael Shuman, 23, one of the organizers of Operation Opt Out.

The youths' goal is to spread the message that they say isn't clear in student handbooks that talk about the opt-out option in small measure and sometimes not in Spanish.

"In a lot of ways it's hidden to the average person's awareness now," Shuman said. "So the youths themselves are going to stand up for what they believe in."

At the end of the talk, Capt. Reyes and Technical Sgt. Richard Tubbs, an Air Force recruiter who arrived later, were invited to speak.

"What we're asking is for you to give options," Reyes said.

Tubbs acknowledged the parents' concerns. He said that he has three teenage children of his own in area schools.

"So I understand," he said.


By Stephanie Hoops
November 20, 2004