Bowling Green State University - Key Yearbook (Bowling Green, OH)

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ROTC to he or not to he l STORY BY GATIIY PRATT X mags 'lu-LR-V Are you willing to obiectively look at the facts and then decide? Look at them marching around all dressed alike- stupid. And catch that standard hair-do-disgusting. The thing that gets me is how they blatently ad- vertise a part of our society l wish no longer exist- ed. Typical comments, you say . . . your sentiments exactly, you nod in approval . . . exactly the way you feel about those damn ROTC people.. . Wait a minute! who said I was quoting comments about ROTC cadets? Maybe you just assumed I was going to talk about ROTC because the head- line said ROTC. Actually those comments have nothing to do direct- ly with ROTC. They were spoken by a couple of professors about the students leading-one of the rallys last spring. Marching around all dressed alike refers to the marches with tee-shirt and blue lean clad youths. The hair-do is not the ROTC short but the HIPPIE long. And the part of society they wish no longer existed is the drug-and-communist set that started the whole quarter of fireworks last spring. ,,,...- , Oh-oh you cry, that's a malicious based on rumors and advocated by haven't taken the time to understand. But all right when you thought the ROTC Depar was being put down. That's kind of an inconsistant reaction-sequen someone who's in an institution of highereduca supposedly to find truth. Don't you think it's time you stopped making such generaliiation sell? Are you willing to objectively look at the facl then decide? If not, don't bother reading ii it will only agitate you. If you do read on, I' dispensing American flags at the end, nor sending a neighborhood recruiter to ring your bell like the Avon Lady and sell you a ur and a hair cut. However, you might get a fe' insights and a little knowledge-and afterall, what BGSU is theoretically supposed to provid Following are excerpts from answers written I NI. Garuti of the Air Force ROTC Department h BG. I would like to point out that whether we lik not, we must have armed forces in today's If we hold to the position that our military mu be isolated, and we must prevent the develo of an 'elite corps', the kind of clique exem by the German general staff of World Warsl then I believe the university educated ROTC is the answer. With my presence here, I am r it clear that the military is a part of society we have a common purpose and that the n

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more money in their fthe playersj sion plan. Before the strike finally ed, an observer of the Saints' ctice sessions could see that the ctices were not just what they re meant to be. As time passed, coaches seemed to be getting rt tempered with their 50 rookies walk-ons as the Hall of Fame e neared. It turned out that both ms fthe Vikings and Saintsl played game with mostly their rookies. strike ended eventually and the nts' practice sessions became lier. Saints had a rather exceptional p of rookies and walk-ons. ir first round draft choice, Ken rough, from Texas Southern Uni- sity is outstanding as a wide receiver. He's tall, 6 ft. 4 in., and has good speed. Their ninth round draft choice, lim Otis, is well known by people in the area and was watch- ed by many. Otis was injured in the Saints first contact drill, but seems to be up to par now. Out of the 50 players trying to make the Saints for their first year, only approximately 12 will make it, and as one can imagine, the competition was hot and heavy in rookie practice sessions. The overall impression of Bowling Green by the players and coaches seemed to be that it wasn't quite as swinging a place as last year's summer headquarters, San Diego. The trainers and coaches were impressed by the BG athletic facilities and the food prepared for them while they stayed in Kreischer Quadrangle. As with anyone else who has been inBowling Green for any period of time, the personnel of the team was not im- pressed or pleased with the weather. The Saints have probably gained a few more fans in the Bowling Green area. But it is rather doubtful that they will return. The reason for choosing BG was purely economi- cal-all of their exhibition games were east of the Mississippi River. The Saints won the first two of their three pre-season games and we'll soon know just how successful the Saints training in BG has been. Let's wish them luck! 'ff Us of the Saints post season scrimmages quarterback Bill Kilmer unleashed a pass, while coach, Tom Fears watched. 25

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it Er LQ: to the popular will, as any elected we choose. lt is inconceivable to imagine that any provide an opportunity to work with people-an area of those who favor the abolition of ROTC would our society is really lax in. iiiituiisrrr represents a real dangerto our society, ust all agree that ROTC is an effective way of ing that the academic community helps shape hinking and attitudes of our future officers. It ns the real peril of the growth of a professional ry clique. lt will tend to reinforce, in the of- corps, the American principle that the civilian control the military processes. lt insures that rmed forces of our country will have a large rtion of officers who have been principally ted and have developed their ideas and ideals ivilian education institution thus avoiding the ty of purely military schools. like to quote a letter from a student BVS, how it doesn't seem right for someone to tell t we may not provide foran orderly continua- four education, because we cannot participate ROTC program of our own choosing. Somehow sn't seem right for someone to deny us the tunity to serve our country and complete our obligations as officers. Somehow it doesn't right 'for someone to interfere with our right ct to take ROTC if that is what we desire to are some of us who couldn't afford to remain ool if it wasn't for direct programs of financial ance offered through the ROTC. Aside from scholarship aid,juniorand senioryearmembers e a subsistence allowance to use as provide the same funds for those who would be de- prived.' . . In our AFROTC classes, no holds are barredg there is no party line, there are no 'book solutions.' Our cadets may speak freely on any subject. They may discuss any authoritative material from what- ever source they can find. We ask only that they think logically and support their contentions in our dialogue. We may seek conformity in dress, in ap- pearance, but never conformity in thinking . .. What control does the University have over the ROTC Department? The University may at anytime ask the Secretary of the Air Force for my reassign- ment if it is not pleased with whatl am doing and this reassignment is easily and quickly done. The same holds for any ROTC instructor that the Uni- versity wishes to relieve. ln effect, the ROTC in- structor has greater control exercised over his activ- ities by the University than that maintained over his tenured colleagues. The Army ROTC instructors and cadetsalso made some points. A majority of junior officers are ROTC graduates. If ROTC were discontinued, then the Army wouldn't be eliminated but OCS would have potential officers for six months of unquestionable, less-liberal, non- collegiate background training. The emphasis is on supervision and leadership experience. We want our cadets to think for them- selves but consider all aspects of the problem. We Some of the complaints against ROTC include the wasted time marching, the guns, and their military atmosphere. First of all, very little time is spent marching. In Army ROTC it is less than one eighth of the time. As for the guns-they don't even have firing pins. The University Rifle Team uses guns more frequent- ly and theirs are loaded. The military atmosphere brings on another point to consider. A decade ago, there was a far greater number of cadets in the ROTC program at BGSU. And considering that the University was only about half its present size, that was quite a percentage compared to the small number of cadets enrolled today. No one started calling the ROTC Department a military atmosphere derogatorily until public senti- ment against Vietnam started gaining momentum. Undoubtedlythe war appears to be a stupid one, but it was a civilian Congress and President who made the decision to begin it, not the Army or Air Force ROTC Department. The fact that participation in ROTC is strictly volun- tary, however, reduces any arguments against it to one of personal rights: if you are not ordered to participate but someone else wants to-wants to get his hair cut, wants to wear a uniform, wants to learn whatever he can from classes, drilling and instruction-then you are curbing his rights if you remove that opportunity from him. Think about it. 27