Revelation of ROTC Classes on Stanford Campus Casts Debate in New Light When the Faculty Senate at Stanford University began to examine the possible return of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps to campus last year, the discussion was assumed to be purely hypothetical. Phased out from campus in 1973 amid anti-war sentiment, ROTC was thought to be a strictly off-campus option for Stanford students who still wanted to participate in the program.
Recent developments, however, reveal that the university reintroduced not-for-credit ROTC classes back to campus more than a decade ago, unbeknownst to most faculty and students. The classes, part of Santa Clara University’s Army ROTC program, have been taught on campus since 1997. The revelation of ROTC classes on campus comes at a crucial juncture. In March, Stanford’s Faculty Senate discussed the university’s current relationship with the armed services’ programs and appointed an ad hoc committee to further investigate the case for ROTC’s reinstatement. At the time, no mention was made of the on-campus ROTC courses, which allow freshman and sophomore Army ROTC cadets to complete some of their military education in Stanford facilities. “It appears most faculty weren’t aware of this,” said Todd Davies, a Stanford lecturer. “It seems it would have been a natural thing [for the committee] to mention as Stanford’s current relationship with ROTC, instead of saying that students go off-campus.” The ROTC was ousted from Stanford at the height of vitriolic sentiment against the Vietnam War, as parts of the academic community objected to the nation’s presence in Southeast Asia and protested against the university’s military ties. Since then, decades have dulled the ROTC discussion, with the university and the armed forces showing little impetus to re-establish ROTC units at Stanford. According to a university press release published this month, however, administrators have allowed informal ROTC classes to take place in Stanford facilities since 1997. Stanford’s registrar didn’t begin explicitly listing the classes as on-campus activities in the official university class catalog until the 2002-2003 academic year. “I don't know how long this practice has been going on, and I don't know who approved the practice originally,” wrote Vice Provost of Student Affairs Greg Boardman in an e-mail to The Bay Citizen. Boardman is also a member of the 10-person ad hoc committee on ROTC. “While the information is indeed in the Stanford Bulletin, it is not our practice to normally monitor how a space is used after it is reserved,” he continued. Today, as the debate over reintroducing ROTC units at schools like Stanford and Harvard resurfaces, the exposure of Stanford’s on-campus ties with the Army training program has surprised some observers. History Professor Barton Bernstein said that he had assumed that no on-campus ties had existed with ROTC and pressed the ad hoc committee on the issue at a recent meeting. Stanford Psychology Professor and committee chairman Ewart Thomas, however, said the Army ROTC classes were “no issue.” Thomas, who had also learned of the on-campus courses this month, noted that the classes’ small size could explain how they proceeded without the notice of Stanford’s greater community. Army Reserve Capt. Joseph McConnell, a Stanford Graduate School of Business student who teaches the on-campus Army ROTC course, agreed. “It’s not well-known at all. The population of Stanford students that know we’re actually doing this is extremely minimal,” he said. The on-campus classes, for freshman and sophomore Army cadets only, serve just two of the 14 undergraduates on ROTC scholarships. The Stanford registrar’s office denied several requests for interviews, but did release a statement saying that the university is “not officially involved in teaching ROTC courses on campus.” Capt. Kent Keirsey, a joint law and MBA student at Stanford, said that the on-campus classes persisted as a convenience for freshman and sophomore cadets who lacked transportation to Santa Clara University. Stanford students in the Army ROTC program currently fulfill most of their training and education duties at Santa Clara, which, unlike Stanford, provides course credit for its students enrolled in the ROTC. Keirsey, who has taught the courses since 2009, stated that the classes focused on the “basics,” ranging from tactics to the “values and philosophy” of the U.S. Army. Still, he was skeptical of whether the on-campus course constituted much of a foothold for ROTC at Stanford. But fellow ROTC instructor Capt. Jim Wilson felt that the on-campus classes could strengthen the case for ROTC at a time when the university is looking to re-engage with the armed services. “The question is if ROTC should come back to Stanford, but in many ways ROTC is already here,” he said. “We teach ROTC cadets on campus and [the University allows] us to schedule rooms.” -- http://www.baycitizen.org/education/story/revelation-rotc-classes-stanford-debate/?utm_source=The+Bay+Citizen+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=01a19c561c-Jan_27_Daily_Newsletter&utm_medium=email Via InstaFetch -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en.
