Posted on 03/11/2005 2:01:10 AM PST by paltz
U.S. military recruiters left a campus career fair an hour early on March 9 after extensive student demonstrations for and against military recruitment.
Over 100 students surrounded U.S. Air Force and Army Corps of Engineers recruiters’ tables at the Career Center Employer Showcase at Jack Adams Hall. A group of five College Republicans blocked protesters and yelled “Don’t join if you don’t want to.”
“Our military is racist, homophobic, sexist and screwing people,” said Students Against War (SAW) member Michael Hoffman, 24, a physics major. “Recruitment on campus is wrong.”
SAW members said they hoped the protest would rally students to take action against recruiters on campus.
“We don’t allow the recruiters on our campus because of the military’s discrimination of homosexuals,” said Alex Schmaus, an environmental studies sophomore. “(The) ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy … goes clearly against campus discriminatory policy. They shouldn’t be on campus.”
Sarah Ballinger, liberal studies major, said the recruiters’ early departure was due to the protester’s efforts.
“I think that if we weren’t there, they would’ve stayed until closing,” said Ballinger. “They realized that we weren’t going anywhere and they weren’t going to recruit anyone, so they left.”
Support for SAW’s protest was not unanimous, several College Republicans waved banners that read, “You don’t have to support the war to support our military” and “end the commie occupation of SFSU.”
Leigh Wolfe, 18, a broadcasting major and member of the College Republicans said he was disappointed that students were not more supportive of our nation’s military.
“I wish they had a little more appreciation for what our troops are doing overseas,” said Wolfe. “They’re fighting for us and dying to protect us at home and (the protesters) are pretty much anti-anything.”
The two-day career expo was co-sponsored by the science and engineering departments.
“It’s my understanding that if a university would deny access by military recruiters, that they could lose federal funding for financial aid and also any funding from the department of defense,” said Brewer.
“If there is a policy set up by the university about denying access to (discriminatory employers) then obviously I’d have to follow that policy. I’m not currently aware of any such policy.”
Political Science professor James Martel said recruiters should be kept off campus.
"The ban against gays in the military is pure discrimination, pure bigotry on the part of the U.S. government with no rationale whatsoever," Martel said. "It sends a signal to the entire nation that it's OK to discriminate against lesbians and gay men."
Tyson Eckerele, a 25-year-old biologist with the Army Corps of Engineering, couldn’t recall any similar opposition or protests on other college campuses.
“This hasn’t happened to us before at UC Berkeley or at Stanford,” said Eckerele, who is a self-described liberal.
According to Jim Fizzell, employee specialist at Stanford University’s Career Center, the Army has attended past career fairs on their campus.
“There’s never been a problem with them being here,” said Fizzell during a telephone interview. Brian Honeycutt, Master Sgt. and Air Force recruiter, was undaunted by the SF State protesters.
“They have the right to protest peacefully if they want to,” said Honeycutt. “But we aren’t leaving unless other employers want us to. They can protest all day and we’ll stay right here.”
Most employers who paid to attend the fair respected the students’ right to express themselves, but some felt the protest detracted from their goals at the job fair.
Nancy Peterson is a recruiter for John Muir and Mt. Diablo Health Systems said the protest discouraged students from entering the job fair and made the atmosphere uncomfortable.
“The temperature is about 98 degrees, we haven’t seen any nursing students, and you can’t be heard over the yelling,” said Peterson. “So it’s a bit disappointing for us here.”
Peterson said her organization wasn’t able to accomplish anything at the fair and would definitely ask more questions before paying to attend another job fair at SF State.
Pacific Medical Center recruiter Rachel Barnes has been to SF State three times before.
Jeff Boyette, an organizer with the International Socialist Organization (ISO) at SF State, was pleased by the fact that the recruiters left the career fair early.
“They’re a discriminatory organization that is taking our brothers and sisters and classmates to a war for oil and empire,” said Ballinger.
College Republicans vice-president Chris Finarelli demonstrated at Malcolm X Plaza and at Jack Adams Hall.
“I support SAW’s right to be here just like the Peace Corps has a right to be here, just like the environmentalists who solicit me every time I walk on campus here, just like UNICEF, they all have a right to be here,” Finarelli said.
“The military is an all voluntary organization, they’re not soliciting people they’re simply sit behind the table with their hands in their pockets and wait until somebody comes up and asks for some information.”
Ballinger said the recruiters’ early departure was due to the protester’s efforts.
“I think that if we weren’t there, they would’ve stayed until closing,” said Ballinger. “They realized that we weren’t going anywhere and they weren’t going to recruit anyone, so they left.”
Jack Brewer, the career center’s director, said the center treats all recruiters the same and doesn’t distinguish between corporations, non-profits or the military.
“It was the most entertained I’ve been since I’ve been here,” she said.
“Yes, it was indeed a success because a lot of the students came out for this,” said Boyette.
Ballinger said she wanted the military out of the school.
I saw Sarah Ballinger, liberal studies major on Fox News Channel last evening. Kind of a woman (man?)(thing?) on the street interview. Not one valid comlaint about the military, just the worn out complaint about "don't ask, don't tell". Describing this piece of filth as ugly would be doing her a favor. Just a pi$$ed off beyond ugly bitc# who probably hates men and manly things anyway. She needed a shave too.
That one will leave a mark, because it is true. I recall the type distinctly.
"Welcome, kids, to wonderful WINO radio! [sings]Won-der-ful WINO, in wes-tern Walla-Wallaaah! And now here's a new one from that folk rock group Danny and the Demonstrators:
'Don't Want No War!' [sings]
Don't want no war...
don't want no war...
don't want no war...
don't want no JOB neither!"
--George Carlin
I was thinking much the same thing, and wondering why the military bothers with campus career fairs -- Set up a storefront near campus and drop an ad in the campus paper. Those who want to can find it.
But the article quoted one recruiter described as a 25-year-old biologist with the Army Corps of Engineering. That's an indicationof the kinds of military careers that a lot of potential recruits might not have thought of.
The military needs young civil engineers, JAG lawyers, epidemiologists, historians and linguists -- even political scientists, since we're in the business of teaching democracy -- and university campuses are where they're thickest on the ground.
The Detroit News has a business reporter named Daniel Howes who is one of the bright shining lights of rational thought in that paper. He recently made the point that since the University of Michigan is really just a private university taking public funding, that the state allow it to become a reak private university and remove tax payer dollars. I think your point, noted above, supports this point of view. Once upon a time, a case could be made for using taxpayer dollars to promote higher education when there weren't a lot of people getting college educations, but that time is long past. Schools that want to promote a particular ideology should be cut loose. They can no doubt make it on their own anyway.
That report was great - ended with '...Air Force recruitment is having a banner year'. This is priceless advertising for the military courtesy of dope smoking maggots.
I did indeed see the fine young woman (aka BABE) that supported the military. I must be getting old, I was focused on the Gillette reject and what she was saying. Of course, my trifocals steamed up when the BABE was interviewed. Whoa indeed!
"I was a Navy recruiter for 3 years"
Thanks for your service. Most folks don't realize how hard the job of a Recruiter really is. These guys are actually on their "Shore" tours(a break from the operational world), and while their peers on normal shore tours enjoy weekends with their families, these guys often spend 7 days a week trying to meet recruiting goals. After their meat grinder of a tour they go back out to operational tours.
That being said, I have no problem with these bedwetting libs protesting the war. When the surround these recruiters and verbally harrass them, it becomes abuse IMHO.
How do we get the law enforced that yanks the federal funding of schools that allow this abuse to occur?
The lefties are determined to turn the clock back to the drug-hazed, sex-crazed lazy days of the 60s. You know, the last time self-righteous socialists were relevant ...
The lib commies were interferring with the recruiters right of peaceful assembly. And I saw some cop standing there doing nothing but digesting a doughnut. He should have had his club out busting heads and arresting the commie scum.
I was a Marine recruiter for 3 years in Indiana, I recruited over 100 men and women for service. One of the best times of the year to recruit was January, right after the first semester ended and reality sets in. I've dealt with these close minded a$$holes a lot. It is so very sad that these people actually "sleep under the blanket of freedom that we provide and then question the manner in which we provide it."
Of course not.
Thats where they get their officers.
***ducking and running***
Simple solution.
Make it a federal offence to interfere with a military recruiter. Mandatory 100 foot perimiter for protests and if anyone is harrassed going to or from the table,the perp goes to jail for 5 years and gets a $10,000 fine. Set up a few sting operations and the liberidiots will catch on.
The recruiters only left AFTER the other recruiters (business employers) left the job fair.
As Fox pointed out, the protesters had kept them recruiting as well. Students looking for information from the job fair had not be able to get to them either.
Now that is really cool, isn't it? Peace, love and joy!(Sarcasm)
It is a federal offense to tamper with military recruiting. It is just that no one wants to prosecute for it.
Wow, a lib studies major. Here's a line she's going to become familiar with in her professional career: "Would you like fries with that?"
------------------------
LOL! That, or: "Will this be on two checks or one?"
Or, "would you like some more coffee?"
Thanks for your response msrngtp2002. My experience in New Orleans was a little different from yours but that was during VietNam post draft.
Back in the '80s the USCG Deputy Director of Operations wanted to replace a crewman with a gunnersmate, arm HH-52s with a 50 cal. That way "Search & Rescue" could 'sav'em or shoot'em' depending on what they needed. HQ thinking at the time shorten this fine officer's career.
Now comes a new age: Post 9/11 the Air Force is authorized to shoot down civilian aircraft with hundreds of innocent American civilians onboard. Odds are that the pilot to fire will be a 'weekend warrior' on reserve duty. At this time... that is a plus believe it or not, simply because of flying experience in IRAQ and AFGANISTAN. That may change in a few years if we don't have a hot war someplace so our troops ...can get some real OJT. That is the hard reality of a peace time military that only wants to serve for the benefits and not the duty. 9/11 tells us that we need that hot war... better in their backyard than ours.
Lighthouses, weather patrols, experimental sea boys are all outdated by GPS - this was all costly sea cop stuff. IMHO we need to spend more of our USCG training dollars in "outside the box thinking" re: new technology in R&D involving investigations with special on-site optical measuring devices involving hull detection with ships/boats/planes/cars/buildings ...whatever. Big brother can not protect citizens from an H-bomb or deadly virus he can not detect. Like it or not 9/11 means America can not be as free as it once was. A good start would be to close the borders - South and North. Hummmm... for what good it will do... I'll submit the same to my congress critter.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.