Dark Side of Solomon
Earlier I expressed concerns that many supporters of the Solomon Amendment do not or did not consider, i.e., the use of Federal money in other areas to boost military recruitment, namely in high schools.
This AP article (via Yahoo) confirms those suspicions. To be clear, I don't have a problem with JAG recruiters running around campus trying to convince law students with six-figure salary jobs lined up to cut that down by 75%. We can certainly weigh all the options fairly. But I cannot say the same about 17 or 18 year olds whose college prospects are about as bright as the dark side of the moon. The implication in this instance is not the First Amendment. Recruiters simply want the contact info of students from school administrators. This raises the trickier right to privacy concerns. But more importantly it raises awareness of a Defense Department that is now using anything and everything at its disposal to meet the quotas for minimum sustainability of a conflict with no end in sight.
We might as well tie Federal Pell Grant money to a stint in the Marine Corps.
This AP article (via Yahoo) confirms those suspicions. To be clear, I don't have a problem with JAG recruiters running around campus trying to convince law students with six-figure salary jobs lined up to cut that down by 75%. We can certainly weigh all the options fairly. But I cannot say the same about 17 or 18 year olds whose college prospects are about as bright as the dark side of the moon. The implication in this instance is not the First Amendment. Recruiters simply want the contact info of students from school administrators. This raises the trickier right to privacy concerns. But more importantly it raises awareness of a Defense Department that is now using anything and everything at its disposal to meet the quotas for minimum sustainability of a conflict with no end in sight.
We might as well tie Federal Pell Grant money to a stint in the Marine Corps.
posted by Armen Adzhemyan at 10:46 AM
2 Comments:
Well, this is more than a year later . . . but I just have to say this: Armen, your Pell Grant money SHOULD be tied to a stint in the Marine Corps. You're a smart guy, but I promise you you'd be a better person for enlisting in any branch of our armed forces . . . as would half our classmates, quite frankly.
Furthermore, I take personal offense at your salary comment. Yes, it's true, folks . . . the US Armed Forces do NOT pay as much as those big city firms do. Or even as much as the small city firms. That's why it's called SERVING YOUR COUNTRY. Just remember Armen, when you're out there making the big bucks, that there are guys out there protecting your ass so that you can keep doing that.
And, as far as your comment about the 17 and 18 year olds whose "college prospects are about as bright as the dark side of the moon": those kids are worth far more than ANY student at Boalt. They work longer hours, in shittier conditions, than you or any of our classmates will ever face in their over-pampered lifetimes. I can stand John Kerry making a comment like that - he had the balls to serve in Vietnam - but you sure didn't earn the right.
What exactly are you taking offense at? Is it that the DoD coerces school districts into handing out personal information of its students? Or do you take offense at Jehova's Witness style recruiting? Do you take offense at someone who's not old enough to sign a prenup signing over 8 years of his or her life?
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