Military Recruits Student Information
Susan Sieber
Issue date: 9/1/05 Section: News
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"[Any] school that receives any type of federal funding, including federal student aid, is required to release this information if a military recruiter requests it," said Marianne Devenny, Director of Enrollment Services at MCC.
The Solomon Amendment, which passed in 1994 and more fully enforced after September 11, 2001, gives military recruiters access to student directory information such as names, addresses, and telephone numbers, as well as date and place of birth, level of education, prior military experience, degrees received, and the most recent educational institution enrolled in. Colleges not giving full and equal access to military recruiters as to civilian employers can be denied or stripped of federal funds under the revised 2003 Solomon Amendment. "If we did not comply with the Solomon Amendment," stated Devenny, "we could lose federal funding... This includes all federal financial aid as well as institutional grants that pay for some programs here at MCC."
Representative Gerald Solomon, when proposing the original amendment, claimed it was hypocritical of colleges to accept government money while denying the military access to campuses, adding: "Do not expect federal dollars to support your interference with our military recruiters," Public high schools have been required since 2002 to give campus access and student directory information to military recruiters, under Section 9528 of the No Child Left Behind Amendment.
Both the Solomon Amendment and the No Child Left Behind Amendment give recruiters space on campus to actively recruit and privately interview students, just like a potential civilian employer or college recruiter. At MCC, this requirement translates to racks of "An Army of One" pamphlets at the main entrance, uniformed military recruiters in the cafeteria, and special recruitment lectures held in classrooms, which are advertised by campus-wide displays of flyers. Last spring term, a seminar was given that included a foreign languages lecture and how knowledge of Arabic, Japanese, and other dialects could get foreign language students good placement in the military. At local high schools, military recruiters can set up display tables, park military vehicles broadcasting recruitment commercials, or even walk into classrooms for recruitment purposes.