As America continues to be embroiled in not one but two wars in the Middle East, the demand for young recruits is on the rise. The military has historically looked to high schools, colleges, and universities as recruitment sites. With the war in Afghanastan heating up, the military feels an even greater urgency to increase its number of new recruits. The FWPA (Fort Wayne Peace Action) wants to put an end to the practice of military recruitment in our schools, particularly our high schools where young people are most impressionable, and there is much we can do to help.
From the FWPA SMRIS Campaign
Campaign Activities of SMRIS
OBJECTIVES:
- To convince school districts to prominently notify all students and parents about their right to opt out of being on lists released to recruiters. Presently, few parents and students are aware of this right because the information is buried in hard to find places.
- To convince school districts to automatically require that the choice to opt out or opt in be recorded at the time of school registration. It should be treated like other essential information that is required in order for students to attend school, a policy that has been adopted in other parts of the country.
- To convince school districts to stop allowing the unauthorized release of personal student information via military aptitude testing in secondary schools. The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test is given voluntarily by 2/3rds of all high schools. If they choose to give it, school districts can adopt a policy that will protect students from unauthorized releases of information to the military.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Volunteer to help with the following Campaign tasks and activities (complete a volunteer form to volunteer for specific tasks and to receive campaign notices):
- Contact school districts and request details on how they notify students and parents of the right to opt out of recruiting lists released by schools. Obtain copies of all notices and forms used and share them with the Campaign. Find out from school counseling offices if and when the ASVAB is going to be given.
- Write to school superintendents and board members and ask for implementation of the model policies on opt-out and ASVAB testing in this packet.
- Appear at school board meetings and ask that these issues be put on the school board’s agenda. (Let us know if you plan to do this so we can alert others who might join you).
- Volunteer to be a coordinator for these activities in a specific school district.
- Volunteer for the high school leafleting program sponsored by the Fort Wayne Coalition for Peace & Justice. Students and non-students distribute fliers in the morning at schools around Fort Wayne and Allen County. Non-students leaflet outside school entrances. Students can leaflet inside schools or join non-students outside.
- Write letters to the editor challenging military recruitment in the schools
A POSSIBLE LEGAL CHALLENGE TO ASVAB TESTING
We are looking for attorneys, parents and students who could help with a legal challenge to the military’s practice of using ASVAB testing in high schools to obtain information on students without parental permission. If you would like to help with this, please get in touch with us at fwpa@comcast.net
For further info contact:
Fort Wayne Peace Action fwpa@comcast.net
260-609-8803
PO Box 13048
Fort Wayne, IN 46866
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