University of Wisconsin Stevens Point - Horizon / Iris Yearbook (Stevens Point, WI)

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THE DRAFT BY MARY MAHER The draft is a means of involuntary conscription, dedicated to the principle that all young men are created equal. The draft is the law and because it is the law it is a strictly enforced system, endowing every young man at the age of nineteen with a lottery number. The draft allows for only certain exemptions and regulates the use of these very closely. On the other hand, the draft is a complex mass of confusion, confounding even the brightest interpreters of the law, and subject to periodic change and revision. There are deferments and exceptions, which sometimes are one and the same, and there are certain things you must be cautious about if applying for a new classification, particularly a CO. Consequently many people subject to the draft between the ages of nineteen and twenty-six are not adequately informed on their rights under the Selective Service Act of 1967. There are draft counselors qualified to assist in alleviating some of the misunderstanding and calculated to assist you in your own interest, more so than your local Selective Service office. With this in mind, check your knowledge and determine if you need help. When a young man turns eighteen. he is expected to register at his local draft board within five days after his birthday. He fills out a simple address form and is done until several months later, when he receives in the mail a “Classification Questionnaire” which is form 100. Now the difficulties begin. He must fill this out accurately for it is on the basis of this form that he is classified when he reaches nineteen. Here he must specify marital status, give information on his family and occupation, and, also, if he hasn’t already filed for the status, claim he is a conscientious objector. He will receive additional forms in the mail pertaining to any claims such as this. In the calendar year following the calendar year he turns eighteen, the young man is in his year of “vulnerability.” He becomes part of the lottery in the year he turns nineteen and is top priority starting the next January. If his number does not come up during that first year he then goes into second priority in the second year. If he is still not called up, he is given a third year priority and so on until he reaches his twenty-sixth birthday. After the first year, there is little chance that he will be called up unless the planes start flying over Pittsburgh. If you haven’t done a double-take already, congratulations. The priority business that came with the lottery system is merely a newer means of confusing the already confused “orderliness” of the draft. Not only that, but about the middle of the year when a lot of II-S deferments ran out, those with a number that is on the borderline can take a second breath since the draft board picks up every month at the loss of deferments, particularly in June. If a young man has a deferment for his first year, his year of vulnerability is postponed until that deferment runs out. The use of deferments or exemptions, where certain omissions are made in cases concerning specific difficulties for the young man who is otherwise eligible, is an aspect of the draft that borders on a science. If you understand it well enough, it might be possible to claim any one of them with complete honesty since this is one of the more “shades of gray” features of the sometimes indiscriminate nature of the system. Some deferments have been abolished with the coming of the lottery, but if you claimed certain deferments before April 23 of 1970, they stand until expiration. These arc the Fatherhood and Occupational deferments, III-A and II-A classifications, respectively. That is, with the III-A, if the local board has been notified of a child, bom or conceived before April 23. 1970, and that child is or will be a dependent, the registrant may have a legal deferment, providing he has not filed for or received a student deferment after June 30, 1967. With the II-A, a request for exemption for necessary employment, if it was requested before April 23, 1970, the deferment is given at the discretion of the draft board. The student deferment, II-S, is of interest to many in the university situation, but there has also been a clamping down on the issuance of these. The young man must meet certain requirements in order to attain as well as retain the deferment throughout the duration of his studies. The applicant must be under the age of twenty-four. He must fill out form 104, which is a request for an Undergraduate Student deferment, and the school he is attending must complete form 109, a Student Certificate. In addition, he must be a full-time student making satisfactory progress toward graduation. There is some misunderstanding over who determines what is satisfactory progress and some guys have been hassled by their draft boards concerning this when it is actually the school that has the right to decide. It is illegal for the draft board to take that responsibility. The hitch with this ana all deferments is that when it is ended, your year of vulnerability begins and you are given an “extended liability” which makes you technically eligible until age thirty-five. Another deferment which is similar to the II-S deferment is the I-S. This covers two different academic situations. If a young man is under twenty vears of age and is attending high school full time, he is given this classification to protect him from the draft. The other possibility is a deferment until the end of the school year for an undergraduate who has been called for induction before the end of the academic year. It only defers for one year and may not be renewed. Other deferments possible are I-Y, which is a physical or mental deferment; II-C, an agricultural deferment which depends also on the April 23rd deadline; IV-B, which exempts government officials; an alien deferment, IV-C; deferment for a student of the ministry, IV-D; IV-F, not qualified for any service; and V-A, too old to serve. These are all classifications that are alternatives to a I-A classification, and should be looked into with the aid of a draft counselor since it will otherwise result in ultimate confusion. The other possible deferments” that have seen some use of late are the two forms of the conscientious objector classifications I-A-0 or I-O. Out of the total 22,168,782 current registrants, 28,188 have CO status. It has become a popular business and subsequently a difficult and of course confusing process. First of all, the CO’s stand is that he feels wfar is wrong, for religious or non-religious reasons. The basis for his acceptance is his sincerity. The CO is not a draft dodger since he does alternate service of some kind. Therefore the CO status is actually not a deferment but a recognized objection to war and an unwillingness to kill. A CO cannot be selective about the wars he would fight and in his appearance before the board, he is 4

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DROP OUTS OR COP OUTS? BY MARC VOLLRATH With nary the sound of a single gunshot the cultural revolution began. It started as quietly as the sound of a growing hair follicle and a questioning thought. Bloodless in its conception, the growing pains are now being felt on the battlegrounds of our nation’s campuses as educated individuals question the values of the uneducated and blind conservatives. Today, anyone who questions may be stereotyped a radical, and if his hair is long — a communist. We are a society of communists. Why? Simply because many identify with this steretotyped individual — and because the “American Dream of a status quo society is a nightmare. Some consider anything deviating from the “norm” as communist inspired. Governor Lester Maddox of Georgia even envisioned sex education in our schools as a “communist plot” to corrupt the morals of our youth. Had the American revolution of 1776 occurred two hundred years later it, too, would probably have been blamed on communists. Today, millions of people flock to church to worship perhaps the greatest radical and revolutionary of all time — Jesus Christ, who, in his time was considered a visionary, operating under the aliases of “King of the Jews,” “Son of God,” and a few others. Today, His radical teachings of yesteryear are completely acceptable. That same man, however, would have a hard time landing a teaching job in Stevens Point without His name to fall back on, because of His shoulder length hair and beard. Certainly no self respecting parent would want their son or daughter attending a school with a freak like that teaching their kids! It is, indeed, surprising that the shoulder length locks of Christ weren't sheared off the wooden replicas of Him that bedeck our present day churches in order to make Him “fit in” with present day standards. Long hair was “in” when Christ taught His radical ideas. The world wasn’t ready for Him — it crucified Him; but only for His ideas. Today, people are crucified, figuratively speaking, for both. At Stevens Point, basically conservative place that it was, hair was short enough so as not to offend anyone driving a Ford four door sedan with a “Love it or Leave it” bumper sticker. Two years ago, though, something started to happen. The “jock” image, and the short hair that goes along with that “all American” look, was no longer the desired image to flaunt. The Vietnam fiasco and the billions of dollars being poured into it caused the educated American student to question the misdirected sense of values being employed by our government. The student saw billions of dollars sent to the moon, while back here on earth our own people were starving, and no black man was really free. He also saw that no man was really free as long as he was forced to fight in a war he believed to be wrong. He saw cigarettes proven to be the cause of cancer and heart disease, yet remain on the market, while at the same time marijuana, never having been proven harmful, remained illegal. He smoked it anyway, and was a criminal for it whether caught or not. The law no longer was his friend — to be respected, but his enemy — to resent. He even questioned the existence of God. Wanting no part of the old American scene, he dropped out. Long hair was a good way to isolate himself from a straight society and, with it, he could identify as a member of the new one. He could raise the eyebrows of the older generation. He didn’t look like them, and because of it was called a faggot. His ideas were new. and because they were not understood, feared. Campus unrest became a normal occurrence. At first, peaceful demonstrations were the only occurrences. Like the “Freedom Riders” of the pre-Civil Rights era, however, they accomplished little but create a public awareness of “weirdos” protesting. To the conservative public it was regarded as “juvenile.” Violence seemed the only answer. Soon the National Guard was on campus so frequently it probably could have audited classes had it wished to. The “cause” of the questioning American student was greater in its interim than in its conception. The following had grown from handfuls to hordes. Its ideas, seemingly radical, were nothing more than the strugggle to regain lost rights — the basis of our constitution, a document that has become idealistic in fact, rather than realistic. All across the country students fought for their beliefs — some even died. These were, briefly, some of the reasons for long hair — to rebel against a society of misguided politicians who value a buck more than a human life; who think it’s more important to discover the moon isn’t really made of green cheese after all, when we still can’t even communicate with our neighbors. To this cause people dropped out and grew their hair long. Sincerity started it; now conformity may ruin it. Why? Because long hair is the “in” look and some people identify with the look rather than with the cause. Many actually oppose it. Unfortunately, the “new” society is just becoming the old one with a new look. Many who “drop out” of the old one by growing long hair still march off to “unholy wars” when their number comes up. Apathy can’t be covered by long hair — only masked. A braless woman’s chest may sag a few more inches, but if her mind isn’t free she’s still the same girl who wore the twelve dollar Playtex long line. Rejecting a two hundred dollar Hart-Schaftner Marx suit for Grundy bell bottoms is only a start. If the person that wears them isn’t doing it for any other purpose than identification, he’s still, in reality, wearing that suit. A long haired, money hungry freak playing the role of a social drop out can fool a great many people. Rock Fest promoters, for example, grasped for the fast buck by pushing “bread” hungry rock groups at an unsuspecting or uncaring public. Who are the real people under that long hair? There are no programs — so we can’t tell who are the actors. The truth is only inside of us — each of us. If we are real we know it, and if we’re fakes, we’re only kidding ourselves. 3

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tested on this with such questions as, “Do you think Israel should defend itself?”, “If a nation suffers unprovoked attack, should it not defend itself?”, Should we let the communists suppress the Vietnamese people?” In filing for the status, the young man must fill out a special form 150 for conscientious objectors which requires written justification of his belief and references of people who will give information concerning the nature of his religious training and beliefs. It is wise to seek the assistance of a draft counselor in applying for the CO status, since there is much involved here and unless a young man knows his rights and choices, there could be a mix-up that might result in an unnecessary prison sentence or a hitch in the Army. The registrant mav file for a personal appearance but must do so within 30 days of the mailing of his classification. This time period cannot be extended except in cases where a courtesy transfer may be made to a more conveniently located draft board. The careful manipulating of a personal appearance to appeal a classification is all important. The registrant should review any other appearance he’s made to sight difficulties encountered. He should look over and be familiar with all of the forms and information previously received from his draft board. He should know his story and his rights. This is his chance to change the board’s decision and present any new material pertinent to his claim. It is a must for all registrants, for their own safety and regardless of the status or claim, to maintain copies of everything sent to the local board and everything received from them. Every statement should be in writing and all appearances should be objectively recorded afterwards. The draft board should always be notified of any changes that might occur affecting status. If a registrant qualifies for any other deferment, this will be considered before an 1-0 classification. There are two separate forms of CO classification which allow for increased variety in the draft system. The 1-0 is one most people are aware of. It allows for alternate service in civilian work which means hospitals or other non-profit organizations or government work. It must be a continuous 24 month job, with exceptions. The I-A-0 classification is given when the specifications for appeal require only that no weapons be used. This is a CO available for noncombatant duty only. He spends his two years in the military but is assigned to medical tasks such as a medic in a combat unit. He is trained as vigorously as an I-A, but is not required to pick up a gun. The balance of his training takes place at the Medical Training Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Finally, it is necessary when giving or receiving information about the draft to realize the nature of its flexibility. Certain laws make it impossible for all facts to remain in effect continually and it is conceivable that any of it could be outdated at any time. For instance, by the time this is published, CO’s with an 1-0 classification may be in for three years instead of two. The draft is a difficult system to fight and for those who wish to do so or for those who merely wish to know more about what to expect, several books are very helpful. The Central Committee for Conscien- tious Objectors puts out the Handbook for Conscientious Objectors, edited by Arlo Tatum, which ex-lains much more thoroughly what as been delved into here. Tatum also puts out, with Joseph S. Tuchinsky, a Guide to the Draft, explaining in plain English all the essential aspects of the draft. Both these publications and other valuable services are available at the Stevens Point Draft Information Service at 1125 Fremont. Reverend Richard Steffen will assist interested young men who find it applicable to have assistance and advice on the draft. So don’t believe everything heard through the grapevine. Turn to sources that are reliable in inter-reting the draft. It’s a system that as no equal in confusion or in the consequences to a young man’s life. Use it with caution. SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM kzrcZiu. I HUM I CLASSIFICATION QUESTIONNAIRE n DATE QUESTIONNAIRE RECEIVEO | AT LOCAL B0AR0 CONFUTE A«0 MTS AM M OM (L»»o 3. Mailing addrru (Number And street, city, county And State, and Zip code) 2- Srlrctnc Sritice — In ,n“ • » “ . IWH mtnU U.» M l«al air »I 0 4 Mu , Mwc iW uum a wW.) INSTRUCTIONS The law rebuild you (o SU out aixl retuin thit quertionnaiic on or befo«r llic elate shown to the right above in Older that your local board will have information to enable it to elanify you. A notice of your clatufkaciori will be mailed to you. When a quotient or Matement in any verier docc not apply, enter DOES NOT APPLY, or • NONE, otherwite complete all verier. The law alto require! you to notify your local board in writing, within ten dayt after it oeeun, of (I) every change in your addreu, physical condition and occupational, marital, family, dependency and military Malut, and (2) any other fact which might change your clarification. Fill out with typewriter or print in ink. H.ct.-, I .— brawr. cz-a •! i—‘ »—c STATEMENTS OF THE REGISTRANT Confidential at I'rrrenbrd in the Selecllre Service KetulatUwa Serle I.—IDENTIFICATION 1. Name 2. Date of birth It-' II.Ml 3 Other turner uwd (If none, enter None ) I. Place of bitth 3. («) Color cyrrj (A) Color hair | (r) Height (d) Wright 6. Citi en or aubject of (country) 1. If naturalized citi ra, giro dale, place, court of ju indict mo and naturaliration number A Current marling addreu iiMn u warn —.••• if«r. •—«, 9. Telephone No. (If none, enter •’None ) Hmh tCwmmj . je. 10. Social Security No II none, enter ' Nine ) 11. Name and addtm of permit oilier than a member of my houirhotd who will alwaya know my addreu IVmI IA44a ».t SSS To-- IM fltr-Wrd C -l7) c.ppl-i cl pe-v-c-v penunf. UnSJ W uwd wad r.ha.u-4 (1) 5