ROTC faces nationwide campus recognition battle
Christiana Solano
Issue date: 10/23/08 Section: News
Besides opening the chance for a military career, merit-based scholarships are a primary aspect driving ROTC registration. Before her graduation, Air Force ROTC Smith student Molly Miller '07 told the Sophian, "College is expensive and colleges should not close the doors to recruiters if it means more students can afford going to that school. It is good to remind Smithies that there is a war going on and that we should support our troops even if we may not agree with the reasoning behind the war."
Mawn explained the financial implications of non-recognition for ROTC hosts. "The Pentagon pays $40 to 45 thousand of tuition to those who get the merit scholarships. Harvard, like other schools, gives MIT an allocation of what they're getting from this $45 thousand tuition payment," he said.
According to Mawn, since Harvard staff has ceased recognizing the ROTC Harvard has also stopped paying the allocation to MIT.
"Harvard gets the full amount of scholarship money from the Pentagon and they cannot pay an allocation. That, in my opinion, is illegal," said Mawn.
Recently, the ROTC program has been endorsed by Barack Obama, John McCain and Joe Biden. During a recent forum at Columbia University, Obama stated, "I recognize that there are students here who have differences in terms of military policy, but the notion that young people-here at Columbia or anywhere in any university-aren't offered the choice, the option of participating in military service, I think is a mistake."
In light of these acknowledgments and increasing support from students and campus administration, Mawn believes campus recognition will be attainable in the near future.
Mawn explained the financial implications of non-recognition for ROTC hosts. "The Pentagon pays $40 to 45 thousand of tuition to those who get the merit scholarships. Harvard, like other schools, gives MIT an allocation of what they're getting from this $45 thousand tuition payment," he said.
According to Mawn, since Harvard staff has ceased recognizing the ROTC Harvard has also stopped paying the allocation to MIT.
"Harvard gets the full amount of scholarship money from the Pentagon and they cannot pay an allocation. That, in my opinion, is illegal," said Mawn.
Recently, the ROTC program has been endorsed by Barack Obama, John McCain and Joe Biden. During a recent forum at Columbia University, Obama stated, "I recognize that there are students here who have differences in terms of military policy, but the notion that young people-here at Columbia or anywhere in any university-aren't offered the choice, the option of participating in military service, I think is a mistake."
In light of these acknowledgments and increasing support from students and campus administration, Mawn believes campus recognition will be attainable in the near future.
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