[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 16320-16321]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                IN HONOR OF THE YOUNG AMERICA FOUNDATION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOE WILSON

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 18, 2005

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, recently, ROTC programs 
and military recruiters have been under attack on college campuses 
across the nation. Some of our nation's leading institutions of higher 
learning have banned military recruiters from their campuses 
altogether. Not only does this weaken our military at a time of war, 
but it also denies students the right to serve their country while 
attending college.
  During a time of war, it is imperative for America to have a military 
that can aggressively and effectively combat terrorism. As the father 
of two ROTC cadets at Francis Marion University and Clemson University, 
and as an ROTC graduate of Washington and Lee University who has served 
31 years in the Army Reserve and South Carolina Army National Guard, I 
understand the importance of an educated and qualified volunteer force. 
Young leaders, such as my sons, Alan and Julian, should have the 
opportunity to both serve their country and advance their education 
through programs like ROTC. By banning military recruiting and ROTC 
programs from colleges, access to America's talented future leaders is 
being denied.
  Recently The Washington Times published an article that discusses 
ROTC and some of Young America's Foundation's activities in support of 
ROTC and ROTC students. The article also tells the story of Lauren 
Daugherty, a student at Emory University, which does not offer ROTC. 
Miss Daugherty commutes four times weekly to a ROTC program at Georgia 
Tech, receives no credit for her classes, and is harassed by students 
when she wears her uniform on campus.
  Young America's Foundation, a nonprofit group that is also preserving 
and protecting Ronald Reagan's Ranch, supports our young men and women 
in ROTC. For years, Young America's Foundation has sponsored speakers 
and other programs defending ROTC. From making attacks on ROTC programs 
and students known to Congress to providing speakers on college 
campuses who defend ROTC and ROTC students, Young America's Foundation 
is a welcome ally in making ROTC available to college students.
  A second article, from the Young America's Foundation publication 
Libertas, describes several efforts to restore student rights to 
participate in ROTC on campuses across the nation. At Columbia 
University concerned students received 65% support from a referendum 
circulated to reinstate the school's ROTC program. The university's 
senate then formed an ``ROTC Task Force'' made up of students and 
faculty to discuss the issue. Students at Yale soon followed and 
started a ``Bring Back ROTC'' campaign. Their goal is to collect more 
than two thousand signatures on a petition that would force discussions 
between the group and the administration. The Young America's 
Foundation works directly with student-based grass roots operations 
like these every year. In the past they have given organizational 
support for campaigns to protect ROTC, and have arranged speakers to 
address students on campuses about the importance of ROTC.
  The courageous efforts of students who stand up against anti-military 
faculties and administrations represent minority rights on campuses. It 
is detrimental to our national security to let anti-military 
institutions of higher learning weaken our armed forces. I commend the 
efforts of the Young America's Foundation, and other student led groups 
who fight for a strong national defense and freedom of association.
  I ask that these two articles regarding the Young America's 
Foundation and their support for military recruiting and ROTC be 
included in the Congressional Record. ``Youth Group backs ROTC on 
campus'' The Washington Times. Thursday, April 14, 2005. Price, Joyce 
Howard. ``Students Willing to Defend Our Country Ridiculed on Many 
Campuses'' Libertas, Vol. 26, No. 2, Spring 2005. Rasmussen, Scott.

               (From the Washington Times, Apr. 14, 2005)

                    Youth Group Backs ROTC on Campus

                        (By Joyce Howard Price)

       A nonprofit conservative youth outreach group that owns 
     Ronald Reagan's former California ranch is fighting what it 
     sees as liberal efforts to abolish ROTC programs on college 
     campuses nationwide, including one in its own backyard.
       ``ROTC programs on college campuses are under attack by 
     professors and leftists, so

[[Page 16321]]

     Young America's Foundation is stepping forward to honor these 
     young men and women, who sacrifice so much to protect the 
     freedoms we enjoy,'' the group stated.
       YAF especially is concerned about the future of a Reserve 
     Officer Training Corps program in its own neighborhood at the 
     University of California at Santa Barbara, which it sees as 
     being threatened.
       Because of its concerns, YAF honored 45 cadets from that 
     program and their instructors at a barbecue at the Reagan 
     Ranch April 9.
       ``ROTC programs have been an issue since the Vietnam War, 
     and some colleges and universities have not had them for 30 
     years,'' said Andrew Coffin, spokesman for the Reagan Ranch.
       At that time, students opposed to the Vietnam War argued 
     the presence of ROTC suggested institutional support for the 
     conflict.
       ``Now because of the Iraq war, ROTC has become an issue 
     against, and efforts are under way on some campuses by anti-
     military professors and students'' to eliminate these 
     programs, Mr. Coffin added.
       YAF also is worried about the situation at UCSB where an 
     effort has begun to end a military presence on campus.
       ``It is not fair to say the university is considering 
     closing down the [military science] program, but it has been 
     asked to consider closing it down'' by a few critics, said 
     UCSB spokesman Paul Desruisseaux.
       He added that the university's chancellor, Henry T. Yang, 
     has ``not weighed in'' with an official position.
       Recent articles in the Princetonian, Princeton's student 
     newspaper, indicate that a small group of students there have 
     started a referendum drive to end its ROTC program because of 
     discrimination concerns.
       But a group striving to retain ROTC also has formed.
       Among those in attendance at YAF's April 9 barbecue was 
     Lauren Daugherty, a student at Emory University, which does 
     not offer ROTC. Miss Daugherty said she had to commute four 
     times weekly to an ROTC program at Georgia Tech.
       When she wore her camouflage uniform on Emory's campus, 
     Miss Daugherty told The Washington Times that she was 
     ``called a `baby killer' and spat at.''
       Mr. Coffin said Miss Daugherty ``received no credit 
     whatsoever for her ROTC participation, but added that she 
     ``ultimately triumphed'' because today she is a Marine Corps 
     Officer candidate.
       In the hope of invigorating ROTC, Congress passed 
     legislation, signed by President Bush, that prohibits schools 
     from receiving federal funds if they fail to permit ROTC 
     units or military recruiters on their campuses.

   Students Willing To Defend Our Country Ridiculed on Many Campuses

         (By Scott Rasmussen, Sarah T. Hermann, Intern Scholar)

       The anti-military and anti-Vietnam agenda is returning to 
     America's campuses. Once again, refusing students the right 
     to participate in the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) 
     program is at the top of that agenda.
       Not far from the Reagan Ranch, seventeen faculty members at 
     the University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) voted in 
     support of a proposal to bar its students from seeking 
     careers in the military. The resolution, presented on January 
     20 of this year by Professor Emeritus Thomas J. Scheff, 
     claims the federal government's ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' 
     policy is grounds for banning military recruiters because it 
     violates the First Amendment. The proposal also calls for a 
     review of the school's ROTC program.
       This is not a new phenomenon. Administrators and professors 
     across the country use the military's ``Don't Ask, Don't 
     Tell'' policy as a rationale to attack ROTC. Never mind that 
     by banning ROTC units from campuses these protestors are 
     themselves practicing a form of discrimination. This is a 
     tactic that happens too often. Principles of equality, free 
     speech, and freedom of expression seem to apply only to 
     colleges and universities when they are ideologically 
     expedient.
       ROTC units are banned currently from several universities 
     including Brown, Harvard, Stanford, and Yale. Students who 
     attend these universities and wish to participate in ROTC 
     programs must travel, often at their own expense, to 
     neighboring campuses. ROTC cadets frequently are the subjects 
     of ridicule on their own campuses. Despite the recent 
     setbacks at UCSB, headway is being made in the struggle to 
     ensure the rights of students are protected.
       Columbia University in New York City banned ROTC in 1969 in 
     an effort to appease liberals. The end of the Vietnam War 
     brought an end to the protesting, however the ban remains in 
     place. That ban is now coming under intense fire thanks to 
     efforts by Advocates for Columbia ROTC, an on-campus student 
     group. Sponsored by the powerful Students United for America, 
     another student organization, the Advocates for Columbia ROTC 
     is making a significant push to bring back ROTC. In a student 
     referendum two years ago, 65% wanted their rights to 
     participate in ROTC restored. In the fall of 2004, students 
     authored a proposal to reinstitute ROTC at Columbia and 
     presented it to the university's senate. The senate then 
     created an ``ROTC Task Force'' made up of faculty and 
     students to discuss the proposal. On February 15 the task 
     force held a ``town hall'' meeting to gather information for 
     a report to be presented to the university's trustees who 
     will make the final decision concerning ROTC's fate at 
     Columbia. After six months of deliberation, the task force 
     split 5-5 on whether or not to restore ROTC to Columbia 
     immediately.
       Columbia's student-led movement may restore student rights 
     to participate in ROTC. Articles, editorials, and letters 
     voicing support for ROTC's return fill the student newspaper. 
     A Columbia professor who opposed students' rights to 
     participate in ROTC in 1969 is now calling for Columbia to 
     cooperate with military recruiting efforts.
       The potential reform at Columbia is a threat to leftists at 
     other Ivy League schools that bar students from participating 
     in ROTC and meeting with military recruiters on campus.
       Students at Yale took notice and started their own ``Bring 
     Back ROTC'' campaign. Yale students hope to garner two 
     thousand signatures on a petition that would encourage 
     increased discussions between the administration and those 
     who want to see ROTC return.
       Some student groups are going on the offensive to ensure 
     their rights to participate in ROTC are protected. For 
     example, students at Cornell are circulating a petition 
     applauding the administration's support for ROTC, saying that 
     a ban ``would be an embarrassment to Cornell and a detriment 
     to our armed forces.'' In the midst of a heated debate about 
     military recruiters, students at Princeton formed a coalition 
     to voice support for the ROTC program and its cadets.
       These developments are encouraging. The students at 
     Columbia and Yale are discovering that they have voices, and 
     if they organize themselves and show strong support, the 
     administration might finally listen.
       But what is happening at UCSB is a step backward and 
     demonstrates what may be a growing undercurrent of anti-
     militarism by faculties. How can we continue to subvert the 
     efforts of those who literally live and die to preserve our 
     freedoms, liberties, and our very way of life? The men and 
     women who participate in ROTC programs are critical leaders 
     in that war. One ROTC commander described ROTC units as 
     ``islands of conservative values in a sea of liberal 
     secondary education. We are training tomorrow's leaders 
     today.'' Such values and training should be accessible to 
     students no matter what school they choose to attend.

                          ____________________