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

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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

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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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The streets are in turmoil. The universities are filled with students rebelling and rioting. Communists are seeking to destroy our country. Russia is threaten- ing us with her might, and the republic is in danger. Yes, danger from within and danger from without. We must have law and order . . . law and order . . . lawandorder Adolph Hitler: 1932 RIUTS Story by Cathy Pratt For those of you who participated or avidly viewed the events of last spring, the demonstrations for as we fondly call them the riots J brought an un- expected though brief and partial student involvement to the campus of Bowl- ing Green. This time, you cite proudly, BG dropped the traditional cloak of apathy from its head, watched, shouted and made faces. You don't admit, however, that it managed to wrap the cloak tightly around its cold feet, pro- hibiting any measurable movement. But you say to the liberal soul staring at you from the mirror each morning, This is Bowling Green, Ohio and it's always been secluded and sheltered from the liberalizing demonstrations found in other, more with-it campuses. lf only Berkeley were nearby, you sigh as you pull on your tee-shirt with the card stenciled 'strike' symbol on the front. You shake your head, jealous of the stories told to you by your cousin about Columbia back in the good old days when students were students and cops were pigs. Ah, how you long to be able to tell your grandchildren of your per- sonal involvement with the fight for student rights. lf only you had some in- volvement and if only you could get some students rights! You want the administration to give you responsibility now . . . so you can figure out what to do with it before you graduate. You know you can handle your own life, even if you don't know much else. You are trustworthy, hard- working, intelligent, level-headed and if your grades were a little higher you would show BGSU exactly what you think of their conservatism stick-in-the-mud- ism by transferring to Kent l You shake your left fist in anger. We'll show you Bowling Green, last spring was only the beginning l!! Ho, hum, that's what they all say. Spring of 1949 was a beginning, as was spring of 1957 and 1961 . . . or didn't you know about those beginnings? Didn't you know that BG has its very own personal history of riots? That over two decades ago, a dress rehearsal of last springs demonstrations was staged with much the same audience reaction? That there was an instant replay of that eight years later, and again four years after that? Bowling Green's First Major Riot October 1949 ln spring of 1949, the administration under President Frank l. Prout, drafted rules concerning the use of automobiles by the students at BGSU. One of the rules explicitly forbade unmarried coeds from riding in cars. lt was made ef- 28 fective at the start of the fall semester, the President said, following plaints by parents and others concerning improper use of autos. The rule was first enforced first semester of 1949 when a Toledo studen an Adrian, Michigan coed were suspended for infraction of the automobile Both were permitted back in class after a week. October 18, a mass meeting was held in the stadium to protest the autorr rule and other grievances. About 1,500 of the 4,600 BGSU students attr the meeting. The next morning, a noisy crowd of students numbering about 200 wan around campus seeking the support of their classmates in a proposed stri classes. The students marched around campus entering classes on the first floor o Administration Building fnow University Hallb and shouting Come On! few students joined the marchers. No arrests were made but extra police including two city policemen we signed to the campus. No damage to the campus was reported. Among the grievances listed by the students were the abolition of th restricting coed riders in cars, freedom of expression for the B-G News, tough attitude by campus police and a student senate that was free fro ministrative pressures. A week-long strike was called for by the students despite a warning fro President's office that any student staying out of class for a week wo suspended for the rest of the semester. However, a statement was rel that the law concerning auto rides for coeds had been relaxed to permi cab rides and rides to dances for coeds wearing formal dresses. The President agreed to meet with a student panel that day in the audi of the Ad. Building fmain auditorium, University Hallj. The faculty passed a resolution backing President Prout's stand against riding in cars. After a special session, the Student Senate issued a statement saying Senate as a body is not in sympathy with the methods and principle strike and is not endorsing such actions. However, we are in complete sy with the principles and objectives or reasons for which the students are st lf these criticisms and objections are brought through the proper channe Student Senate, then the Senate as a body of students will do all in its fied powers to investigate and alleviate those conditions which are detri to their well-being. William Day, editor of the B-G News, said that the whole deal . . . is de about the car rules. lt's not freedom of the press. The President also denied the existence of administrative pressures newspaper. He admitted, however, that a student editor had been sus from his post the previous summer because of an editorial critical oft lege administration. He surreptitiously put something in the newspaper, Prout said, having it checked by the faculty advisor. A group calling itself the Student Representative Committee started wor list of grievances to be presented to President Prout and the Student The finished list of grievances included complete freedom of the B-G no administrative interference in Student Senate, relaxation of campus powers, i.e., restricting their operations to enforcing law, not harassing st in matters considered innocent, natural and trivial, backing by the admi tion of an organized effort to have 3.2 beer licensing restrictions remov finally abolishment of the existing car rules. This Student Representative Committee issued a statement of the goal pected to achieve. We hope to attain a publication representative of both the student a administrative viewpoints and a student government with the power to the students it serves. That's proved to be a pretty big order considering the B-G News and t dent government here are still under wide-spread attack, respectively f lack of student representation and lack of action, although unmarrie are now permitted to ride in cars.