ROTC should not be forced out
ROTC should not
be forced out
The Reserve Officers' Training Corps' refusal to allow homosexual students to participate in its programs is deplorable, and students removed from the program for homosexuality should not be forced to refund scholarships. But forcing ROTC off the MIT campus is not the answer.
If MIT were to break its ties with ROTC, it would be shirking its responsibility to change ROTC through the democratic system. ROTC is not an independent group, free to discriminate and terrorize at will. It is a part of the American armed forces, and as such it is the responsibility of all American citizens. If the members of a democratic society refuse to temper the excesses of its military then no one will. It is vital that Americans, instead of withdrawing from the system, fight their struggles within it.
Change does not come easily. Vigilant participation in the political process does not offer the attraction of a one-time symbolic gesture, nor does it offer immediate gratification or free publicity. Nevertheless, this participation is the time-worn responsibility of each American who has ever received the benefits of democracy, and hopes to insure those benefits for future generations.
Annabelle Boyd->
Andrea Lamberti->
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