Rider University - Shadow Yearbook (Lawrenceville, NJ)

Page 117 text:

der's R.O.T.C. program. My first impression came with my meeting with the officers and non-commissioned of- ficers involved with the program. I found them to be frank, open-minded and truthful. No excessive demands have been made upon me as far as conduct or put-out- of-class activities are concerned. I have also found the R.O.T.C. personnel willing to take time out from their schedule to answer any questions or help solve any problems that I might encounter. At no time have I been subject to any military in- doctrination except that which is necessary to perform my duties as a future officer. Nor have I been forced to compromise any beliefs that I might have held before entering the program. I have also found myself more willing to take on more responsibility, both in and out of uniform. The Reserve Officers Training Program does more than just supply the army with most of its officers. It offers to the interested student a chance to gain in- sight about how the army works. It also offers to the student a chance to see if the military would suit him. But, most importantly, it affords the individual the chance to serve and in this age of social con- sciousness, who could ask for more? 'QQ

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A Look At Those R O T C Myths fi 'i 'i dig? ra I ij, -- I by William Mecum, Fl.O.T.C. Cadet When I was asked to write this article I felt unequal to the task. I had only been involved with the Reserve Offi- cers Training Program for the last year, and I felt that any impression I might have had would be narrow. Nevertheless, after some thought I concluded that there was some insight I could offer the Rider community and clear up some myths concerning the R.O.T.C. program. The reader might well ask the question, Why did you join R.O.T.C.? I can only answer by saying that I feel that in this way I can both serve my country and at the same time fulfill my military obligation. I subscribe to the fundamental truth offered by the Romans who said that he who desires peace should prepare for war, for no one dare offend or insult a power of recognized superi- ority in action. I can reject as both ludicrous and foolish the idea held by man that peace is natural and the only way to achieve it is by dismembering a country's ability to protect its sovereignty, namely its armed forces. Mod- ern history has proven to me that pacifism has killed just as many people as any militarism has. With this philosophy in mind, I voluntarily joined Ri- 104 A f tk

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Apathy Or Activism? by Ron Solomon Rider News editorial director To review political occurrences at Rider since 1967 is to observe a cyclic pattern of apathy-activism-apathy which has directed the actions, or lack of actions, of the majority of the student body. Apathy a trite catchword, but accurate never- theless has been the hallmark of students here as far as campus issues have been concerned since our freshman year and probably long before that. Except for small groups Ccliques if you willy who have run our student government, College Union Board and various ad hoc organizations, the level of student participation in matters that directly affect our campus lives has been low enough to discourage any of these leaders. A possible explanation for this lack of concern for college matters is immediately apparent: A large num- ber of youths today are too cosmopolitan in political ori- entation to be bothered by such trivialities. Concern over and involvement in, national and international po- litical issues is admirable-as long as the participants are able to keep their feet off other people's toes. But this apparently widespread and popular desire of so many students to change what they consider social and political injustices does not suffice to explain the lack of participation in matters which affect them even more directly. The campus is their home as is the world, and while they charge their country with international adventurism while more pressing problems persist at home, these students commit the same wrongs in mi- crocosm by Ietting their campus rot while they consider only bigger and better things. Even this deep, activi- stic interest in regard to the bigger picture is invariably short-lived, however, as witnessed by the unique show- case of the antiwar moratorium of 1970. What happened to the 1,500-odd, die-hard, Out-of- Ftider Has Seen Both