Councilors debate JROTC program

Yawu Miller

City Councilor Chuck Turner last week led calls for the end of Boston School Department funding for the Junior ROTC program, which costs the city $1.2 million a year.

In a City Council hearing attended by anti-war activists, Boston school students and JROTC instructors, Turner and other JROTC opponents said the program draws money away from other after-school activities at a time when resources are scarce.

“Right now the federal defense budget is $500 billion,” Turner said. “The national education budget is $50 billion. We’re spending ten times as much on defense as we are on education.”

Turner said the school department should not have to pay for JROTC instructors who are fast-tracking students into the U.S. military.

Councilor Paul Scapiccio, however, said the majority of the council supports JROTC.

“There are many people on the council who think JROTC is a very good thing,” he said. “In my point of view, I think it’s money well-spent.”

JROTC, which is in 11 Boston high schools, teaches students military history, drilling and marksmanship, among other military skills. Immigrant students are often encouraged to enroll in JROTC to improve their language skills, according to reports.

Anti-JROTC activists said the program diverts students from more meaningful activities. Students participating in JROTC at Madison Park, West Roxbury and Tech Boston high schools are exempted from academic history classes because they are receiving military history, according to Eve Lyman, director of Boston Mobilization, an anti-war organization.

Lyman notes that the JROTC instructors are not certified to teach history courses.

“Brookline, Newton and Wellesley do not have JROTC,” Lyman said. “What it comes down to is that low-income students of color are being targeted for military recruitment.”

At the same time, most Boston schools do not offer extra-curricular arts, drama or music programs. Thus, students are left with a choice between JROTC and limited sports programs like baseball, football and basketball.

Lyman said a summer intern with her nonprofit social justice organization was told by school administrators that she had to take JROTC in order to graduate.

School Superintendent Thomas Payzant said he knew of no instances where students were required to enroll in JROTC.

“I think it’s very clear that this is a program of choice,” he said. “Nobody is required to enroll in this program.”

Payzant also said JROTC does not exist solely as a recruitment tool for the military, noting that just two percent of all Boston high school seniors indicate an intention to enter the military after graduation.

But Cecilia Duran, who works with Boston Mobilization, said that 40 percent of JROTC enrollees end up enlisting in the military.

While Payzant said parental consent is a requirement for enrolment in JROTC, activists cited anecdotes of immigrant students pressured into signing up without their parents’ knowledge.

“It’s a very dangerous message we’re sending to our children when we tell them the only path to success is through the military,” Duran said.

While teachers and peace activists testified against JROTC, no students did. Students enrolled in JROTC gave a Power Point-style presentation on the history of the program and its implementation in the Boston schools, reading from prepared statements.