Press Release, Flagg Youngblood, Young America’s Foundation, (800) USA-1776
March 28, 2007
WILLIAMSBURG, VA – The College of William & Mary persists in maintaining a huge institutional barrier to deter students who wish to serve their country from participating in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC).
William & Mary students can earn three credits towards graduation for taking courses such as:
William & Mary students can also earn one or two credits per semester towards graduation for participating in courses such as:
But not for ROTC…
William & Mary, the second oldest school in the country and a public, taxpayer funded institution, only grants a meager 6 credits for graduation to students who participate in ROTC for all four years, despite ROTC cadets spending an average of 4 hours per week in the classroom and another 3 hours per week doing physical education.
Students at other pubic schools in the state, including George Mason University, the University of Virginia, and Christopher Newport University, can earn full course credit for participating in ROTC. James Madison University even offers a minor in military science for students participating in ROTC.
Matt Pinsker, a William & Mary sophomore who is pursuing an Army commission through ROTC, comments, “In effect, William & Mary is telling me that the time I spend studying the art of leadership to defend our country is much less important than understanding stage lighting or how to make a vase. By studying lighting techniques for one semester, I can earn the same number of credits it takes me two years to earn in ROTC. Talk about discouraging!”
William & Mary’s discriminatory credit-issuance policy should be changed. Last night, Matt successfully petitioned William & Mary’s Student Senate to ratify a resolution seeking course credit equality for ROTC on behalf of the school’s student body. The symbolic resolution passed unanimously.
“The challenge we face is getting the school’s administration and Board of Visitors [W&M’s governing body] to acknowledge and rectify the inequity they currently impose on students who have answered the call to serve,” continues Matt.
Young America’s Foundation staff member and Army veteran Flagg Youngblood comments, “William & Mary offers us yet another example of anti-military bias on campus. If the decision makers at William & Mary really care about ‘Supporting the Troops,’ they need to offer full course credit for ROTC immediately, like other state-sponsored institutions in Virginia do.”
Flagg continues, “Last year, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in support of the Solomon amendment, saying Federal funding can be cut off to schools whose policies effectively prevent the maintenance of ROTC units on campus. William & Mary received over $38 million from Federal taxpayers in 2006, and plain and simple, it would be more than a shame if the current ROTC course credit inequity eventually jeopardized the health of William & Mary’s ROTC.”