Santa Cruz students fight military recruitment

<www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2003/March/02/local/stories/01local.htm>

By KURTIS ALEXANDER
Sentinel staff writer

SANTA CRUZ -- A group of Santa Cruz High School students is challenging a new, little-known law that gives the Defense Department unprecedented access to student phone numbers and home addresses to help with post-Sept. 11 military recruitment.
“This is wrong,” said Josh Sonnenfeld, a senior and member of the politically charged school group Youth Alliance. “We want to protect our privacy.”
On top of privacy, critics like Sonnenfeld oppose the release of student information to the military because of its ban on gays. Others condemn the military’s mission altogether, particularly as U.S. forces prepare for possible war with Iraq.
In response to the student concerns, the Santa Cruz City Schools district board plans to consider a resolution March 12 that would deny military recruiters information about students unless they obtain written consent from parents.
“They shouldn’t burden the schools with us having to do their (outreach) job for them,” said Trustee Cece Pinheiro, who is helping students write the resolution.
Until now, the burden of getting parental consent for student information was on the military. Like colleges and prospective employers wanting to court students, the military was required to obtain parental permission before seeking personal information from schools.
But the tide has turned. A clause in the No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law by President Bush last year, requires parents to “opt out” of information disclosure policies instead of providing them the opportunity to “opt in.”
“It’s more than semantics,” said Santa Cruz Assistant Superintendent Alan Pagano, who said the district has only now begun to address the new mandate. “It’s a whole different way of coming at the request.”
The student-initiated resolution aims to move the responsibility of securing parental permission back to the military, calling for school officials to develop an “opt-in” card that could be presented to parents upon student registration. The district would release student information only if the opt-in card is filled out.
Pagano, who has yet to see the draft resolution, said the district’s lawyer would review any proposed resolution. He speculated a mass mailing to the parents of juniors and seniors, informing them of the new federal law, would be an almost- certain first step.
The provision in the No Child Left Behind Act comes as more and more high school students are going on to higher education, leaving military recruiters with a tougher job.
Recruitment offices in Aptos did not return phone calls to comment. But the Defense Department Web site suggests the purpose of recruitment efforts, as with colleges and prospective employers, is simply to inform students of their options.
“Today’s military makes every effort to provide rewarding career paths in every career field,” the site reads.
Military recruiters have yet to pursue student information with their expanded privileges, said Santa Cruz High Principal Ralph Porras.
In addition to the opt-out clause, the No Child Left Behind Act requires high schools to grant military recruiters the same access to campus as university and corporate recruiters.
Unlike nearby San Francisco and Berkeley, where military recruiters are banned from public schools, the access provision would not impact Santa Cruz, Pagano said. Recruiters, with permission from school administrators, are permitted in Santa Cruz high schools, he said.
The proposed resolution, though, seeks to keep on-campus military visits in check. In addition to managing the disclosure of student records, the resolution calls for the creation of an information packet, notifying students “about the practices of military recruiters and student alternatives to military service.”
“There’s a lot of indication that recruitment is not an honest process,” said high school teacher Malcolm Terence. He said recruiters can mislead students about what to expect, be it education or lifestyle, and that students should be provided the resources to put this information in perspective.
Parent Marla VanDale, who says her son, now 20, received lots of mail from military recruiters before his graduation, claims she would appreciate new board policies guarding children from recruiters, but does not think they are necessary.
“(My son) is smart enough to make that decision for himself,” she said.
Other parents, like Elizabeth Handley, said the district should do all it can to limit military recruitment.
“(My son) just got his braces off six months ago, and I don’t want him to be contacted,” she said.
Advocates of the resolution say the cost of implementing the resolution would be minimal. They hope school members will work with community-based groups like the Resource Center for Nonviolence to cover costs of information packets and mailings.
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Contact Kurtis Alexander at kalexander (at) santa-cruz.com