There are some sleazy characters hanging out in and around the high schools, and they want the kids. They are adults who are professionally trained in the art of seducing students. To entice the minors, they are allowed to lie to them and make promises that will never be kept. Once a student gives them what they desire, the student must live for the rest of his or her life with the consequences, while the adults eagerly move on to their next conquest. The consequences for the students are often debilitating psychological injury, crippling physical trauma, or even death. There are no consequences for the military recruiter.

     Under the No Child Left Behind act, high schools are required to give recruiters from all branches of the military access to the high schools, and to turn over the names, addresses and phone numbers of students so that they can be targeted by the recruiters. If the schools refuse to turn over that information, all federal funding to the school can be cut off, depriving the school of a major source of revenue. For the schools, the choice is either pimp your students, or lose big bucks. By “pimp your students” I do not mean to accessorize them with fancy decorations.

     Fortunately, on a case by case basis, it is possible to prevent the schools from giving out the names, addresses and phone numbers of particular students to the recruiters. But to do this, it is necessary for the parents of the student to “opt out” in writing. If the parents do nothing, then by default the information will be turned over to the recruiters. According to the Anchorage School District, the last safe time for opting out this year is before the end of the school day on Thursday September 29, 2005. Until that date it is still possible to opt out even if you previously gave permission for the release of information. The information will be released to the military recruiters on or about October 1, 2005.

      To opt out, it is necessary to use a form that is available from your school district. In the Anchorage School District, the form is the “Directory Information Disclosure Form” which is available on the school district’s web site (http://www.asdk12.org/) as form number “Reg #001.” Other school districts will have other names and numbers for their forms, and you may need to ask for the form in person if you can’t find it on their web site.

     If you are a parent of a high school student in Anchorage this fall, and want to protect your child, you need to opt out by September 29, or the information will be given to the recruiters. If you are a student, talk to your parents about opting out. In either case, the organization “Leave My Child Alone” has a good web site (http://www.leavemychildalone.org/) with more information about opting out. The American Friends Service Committee also has a lot of resources available on this issue. Go to “http://www.afsc.org/” and click on the link near the top of the page for “Youth & Militarism.” The War Resister’s League (http://www.warresisters.org/) has some great
resources available as well.

     In addition, volunteers from Alaskans for Peace and Justice will be making information available to parents and students near some Anchorage high schools this fall, with times and places yet to be decided. They will also have an informational picket in front of the next Anchorage School District Board meeting, to be held on Monday, September 12, 2005 at 6:00 p.m. at the Anchorage School District headquarters. The pickets are friendly and won’t bite. Feel free to stop and talk to them if you would like more information about the practices employed by military recruiters and about other alternatives that may be available to you.

     There is a separate but related law which requires colleges and universities to also give names, addresses and phone numbers of students to military recruiters, and to give the recruiters access to the campuses. It is called the Solomon Amendment, and it does not even have an “opt out” provision written into it. The Solomon Amendment has been successfully challenged in federal court by the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (FAIR), which is a coalition of educational institutions and student organizations. Almost all colleges, universities and law schools have anti-discrimination statutes which bar from their campuses those employers who discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. All branches of the U.S. military indeed do discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. The Solomon Amendment seeks to force these educational institutions to associate with military recruiters against their wills.

     The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has now held in the case of FAIR v. Rumsfeld that the Solomon Amendment is unconstitutional and unenforceable. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review that decision. If the decision striking down the Solomon Amendment is upheld, we may see a challenge to the similar No Child Left Behind provision in the future. Until then, opting out is the only way for high school students to get some protection from the recruiters. Opt out today and stop the military from invading your privacy and possibly ruining your life.