Our Opinon: ROTC — Right for Emory | The Emory Wheel

With the recent repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy and President Obama’s call for universities to become more cooperative with the military, the debate of whether or not to invite the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program back to campus is reemerging. Since the disbandment of Emory’s on-campus ROTC in 1974, interested students have lacked an on-campus option for participating in the program. In recent years, participating students have had to commute to Georgia Tech for their required physical training and military science courses.

We believe that bringing an ROTC program to campus would add to Emory’s already diverse community by helping to attract, as well as maintain, a segment of the student population that has different viewpoints and narratives. Given the scholarship opportunities provided by ROTC, the program would also provide these students with another means of affording college during these difficult economic times.

We recognize the arguments made by members and allies of the LGBT community, as discrimination against transgender individuals persists. Such policies run counter to Emory’s mission of inclusion. While we recognize such arguments as legitimate, we do not believe that this reason alone should be used to prevent ROTC from taking a more active role on Emory’s campus. Emory has aspired to be a leader among institutions of higher education as an ethically-engaged university, and it would be our hope that Emory’s hosting of an ROTC program would have an improving impact on that institution.

Presently, Emory’s policy toward students involved or seeking involvement in ROTC seems to be one of discouragement. For instance, ROTC students do not receive P.E. credit for their almost daily rigorous physical training. A positive step for Emory to take in the interim, as students and administrators continue to discuss the issue, would be to better recognize the efforts of these students involved in ROTC.

The above staff editorial represents the majority opinion of the Wheel’s editorial board.

Source: http://www.emorywheel.com