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4,000 Names Given to Military Recruiters

Alex Katz

Saturday, November 15, 2003 - OAKLAND -- The Oakland school district turned over names and phone numbers of almost 4,000 students to military recruiters this week, in a controversial move required to comply with federal law.

A provision of President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind Act gives recruiters special access to names, phone numbers and addresses of high school juniors and seniors.

Schools sent "opt-out" forms home with students in English, Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese. About 600 students returned the forms to prevent their information from going to recruiters, district officials said.

The Pentagon says the law helps to find young people to defend the country.

But some Oakland parents and school officials say recruiting and advertisements for the military can be misleading to children. Military marketing often focuses on adventure and money for college, without any mention of going to war, killing or dying, they say.

Student names and numbers are still off-limits to college recruiters and other government agencies. Previously, Oakland did not give out student information to anyone without parent permission.

"I don't think (recruiters) give a realistic view of what the military is," said Venus Mesui, parent coordinator at the Street Academy, a small high school that has banned military recruiters from campus.

Mesui also works at Fremont High, where she said recruiters' pitches center on money. It's hard for poor students to resist offers of signing bonuses and tens of thousands of dollars for college, she said.

"We're talking about teenagers, 16, 17 years old," Mesui said. "Some of them don't have three dollars in their pocket to buy lunch."

Also, she said, "You know the military is now. They're not coming home and when they do, they're coming home in boxes."

The district sent names and contact information of juniors and seniors to Jack Meng, an education specialist in a South Bay U.S. Navy recruitment office. Meng could not be reached for comment Friday.

Under the No Child Left Behind law, the Oakland schools stood to lose more than $25 million in federal funds if the district did not give out names to recruiters. The school board voted last year to comply with the law, but stressed that parents would be informed they could sign an "opt-out" form to keep their children's names and numbers private.

"Most of us felt like it wasn't a good idea because it would be difficult for parents to be informed," said board member Gary Yee, a former captain in the U.S. Air Force.

Fremont High journalism teacher Michael Jackson had a less critical view of military recruiters.

"Some kids love the structure (of the military), and that's really good for them," said Jackson, whose son is stationed in Iraq.

Also, Fremont High is no stranger to recruiters from colleges, nonprofits, political organizations and even religious groups, Jackson said.

"I've taken kids to numerous assemblies that almost turn into prayer meetings," he said.

In the past, recruiters have always been able to call a good number of Oakland students without information from the district.

Fremont High senior Anthony Petty said giving students' names to recruiters helps the country.

Also, "I think it's good that they're getting troubled teens, if nothing else, to explore the world," Petty said.

Still, Petty said recruiters don't always give a complete picture of military service.

"I don't think it's like they're lying to people, but they're not necessarily being up front with them."

— Alex Katz
Oakland Tribune
2003-11-15
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82%7E1726%7E1768911,00.html

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