'Freedom can't protect itself'

More than 100 student organizations and antiwar groups recently petitioned the Department of Defense to cease the collection of basic personal information (such as Social Security numbers and e-mail addresses) for a military recruitment database.\nIn light of their complaints, let us call your attention to the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States. Among its reasons for "ordaining" and "establishing" the constitutional union was the desire to ensure for "the common defense." In fact, Federalist No. 23, written in defense of this principle, states quite clearly that the federal government "ought to be invested with full power to levy troops ... and to raise the revenues, which will be required for the formation and support of an army and navy ..."\nBut one does not need to take a course in political philosophy to understand it is hardly prudent and, in a time of war, quite dangerous to raise barriers to the recruitment of soldiers. \nYet a myriad of student organizations have done precisely that. \nThe most prominent of the groups to attach their name to the letter scolding the Pentagon for its creation of the Joint Advertising and Market Research Studies Recruiting Database was the American Civil Liberties Union. Never averse to driving a wedge between civilian and military cultures in our society, the ACLU has long attempted to eject ROTC programs from America's campuses. All of this seems highly unfair. Those who carry the message of America's defense deserve our applause --\nand those who sign up, our admiration -- not our derision. \n

DISSENT

\nThe database for military recruitment includes a student's Social Security number, telephone number and ethnicity. However, the database issue is more complex than a simple exception to the 1974 Privacy Act, which was enacted to "regulate the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of personal information by federal executive branch agencies." Many students are not even aware that their personal information is being so readily accessed by a group determined to control their futures.\nThis system allows the military to gain direct access to young, impressionable students. By including information such as ethnicity and grade point average, recruiters are able to target individuals most likely to sign up -- meaning minorities from impoverished areas.\nWhen recruiters go after students, they don't talk about boot camp. They talk about job training and money for college. They promise students they will not go to Iraq, knowing they cannot keep such a promise.\nMany students don't join the military out of a sense of civic obligation, but as a last resort. The appeal of the military is that it's a good-paying job right from the start. Students join the military thinking it will make life easier by providing a steady income and financial assistance for school. \nBut the military is not the "easier" option. It's both physically and psychologically demanding, and students should not be enticed into signing up for such demands just because a recruiter needs to fill a quota.