Faculty Recall ROTC History
by Tara W. Merrigan and Zoe A. Y.,
thecrimson.com
March 10th 2011
Harvard’s recognition of the Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps last
Friday—following a 40-year hiatus of the program on campus—marks a turning
point in University relations with the military.
Since ROTC’s withdrawal from campus in 1969 in the midst of anti-military
sentiment during the Vietnam War, the atmosphere at Harvard has changed
significantly, professors said.
The debate about ROTC’s role at Harvard since the 1990s has centered primarily
around “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” a military policy that bans gays and lesbians
from serving openly in the military. The policy was repealed in December, but
will not be formally implemented until later this year.
According to Computer Science Professor and former Dean of the College Harry R.
Lewis ’68, opposition to ROTC today is much more tempered than the strong
anti-military sentiment in the late 1960s and 1970s, in part because of the
more diversified nature of the student body.
Lewis said the College of forty years ago was largely comprised of bicoastal,
privileged students that tended away from military service.
Now, there are more students at Harvard from communities where the military is
highly valued and where “serving in the military is something people do,” he
said.
Lewis added that the draft during the Vietnam War led to heightened emotions
towards the armed forces.
“The military draft created a very different spirit,” Lewis said. “The College
was both a sanctuary from war and a prison for students.”
Assistant Government Professor Michael L. Frazer said that changes in attitudes
about the military on campus may be a reflection of historical circumstance.
“You have to distinguish between a general pacifism from opposition to
particular wars that are thought to be unjust,” he said. “Presumably you don’t
have anti-military sentiments for no reason.”
The University’s relationship with the armed services has warmed significantly
in recent years. Since 2008, University President Drew G. Faust has attended
the spring ROTC commissioning ceremony, continuing a precedent set by her
predecessor Lawrence H. Summers. During a campus event with Joint Chiefs of
Staff Chairman Michael G. Mullen in November, Faust made it clear that ROTC
would be welcomed back when the military changed its policy on gays and
lesbians.
Several professors expressed approval for the University’s recent recognition
of NROTC, which was formalized at a ceremony on Friday.
“I favor the return of ROTC to campus,” Professor Theda R. Skocpol wrote in an
e-mail. “Harvard is now in a position to support and honor those who choose to
serve in the military.”
While Professor Michael Dowling expressed his support for the return of NROTC,
he said he was upset that the decision to recognize the program was made
without any faculty-wide discussion. He said he hopes that the administration
will consult the faculty if military classes will ever be adopted into the
curriculum.
“Maybe the president feels she doesn’t need to discuss this with the faculty,”
he said.
However, professors said that they look forward to a closer relationship with
the military.
“In general, it will be a good thing for the country if stronger mutual
relationships are forged between universities and the officers in our
military,” Skocpol wrote. “Both institutions have things to learn from one
another.”
—Staff writer Tara W. Merrigan can be reached at [email protected].
—Staff writer Zoe. A.Y. Weinberg can be reached at
[email protected].
Original Page:
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2011/3/10/military-faculty-rotc-harvard/
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