Page 4-Sunday, February 19, 1978-The Michigan Daily The Michigan Daily-Sunday, Feb ROTC: SELF-ADMITTED jock at Willoughby South High School in Ohio, Mike Jones was often surrounded by fawning home- _ coming queens and was seldom above com- promising studies for a night on the party r circuit. He hung out with a rather rowdy reasons-they lil group at the time-a friend said he was port and they l "basically a nice kid who got into some bad college. These scenes," respectability f In September of 1976, Jones enrolled'in the want to take adv Navy Reserve Officer Training Program at ORTH the University. He was not motivated by any verst sudden urges to serve his country or by un- Force because he had won a full four-year scholar- asi ship and it was the only way he could afford program itself, college. Jones never had a military bent. In fact, he says he intended to quit ROTC at the end of his sophomore year, the time when cadets on scholarship must make a formal com- mitment to the military if they want con- tinued government support (and thus become obligated to serve four years in their particular service branch after' graduation). But Jones is now a sophomore, and he's enough to seclud sticking with ROTC. For reasons that read University life. like a promotional pamphlet come-on, Jones The buildin has become serious about the program and military. Frame no longer sees it as a free ride through Carter, comman school. forces, hang in "I'm not in ROTC for the war aspect," he company withc asserts, "but for the growing up aspect. mug shots. High school is not a dream world, but you The stolid st don't have to make plans . . . with ROTC these days. Una you're in the real world." dly believe that I Jones is one of those people who wouldn't protesters jam have dared involve themselves in the lawn, demanding military a decade ago, in the days of the an- and an end to RO ti-war movement when ROTC cadets were Today, the sc: frequently objects of derision and hatred. short-haired, so He represents those students now joining across campus e ROTC for practical, calculated catcalls. New role, old conflicts By Richard Berke ke the idea of financial sup- ike the idea of a job after students sense a renewed or ROTC on campus and antage of it. HALL, home of the Uni- ty's Army, Navy and Air ROTC programs, sits atop htly sloping hill next to the g. Just like the ROTC North Hall is set back and instructor. "When I came here I was concerned about it, but now I have no hesitation to wear my uniform anywhere." "When you walk across the Diag in uniform there are people who look at you kind of funny,'' said freshman Navy ROTC cadet Matt Marquardt, "but you just have to think of the kind of people who would do that." Marquardt was in blue jeans, the usual attire of most ROTC cadets who are only required to don Navy blues, Army greens or Air Force sky blues once a week N OW, FAR removed from the realities of the battlefield, they like the idea-of the personal- as opposed to national-security a ROTC stint can offer. Subsidized or free tuition is hard to come by these days, likewise assured employment after college. "Students that come in here aren't asking questions they used to like 'How short do I get my hair cut?'; they're looking more for the future job and what if offers," said Luet- tinger. "Overall, it's (ROTC) a good deal. It's for some people and it isn 't for others-you have to like that kind of lifestyle. If you want that opportunity, you have to put up with .day to day crap along with the obligation."' -A former ROTC cadet tactics, while others learn to fly. They may learn how to scale the Dental School wall or to look down the barrel of a rifle, but they find it hard to comprehend that they are being trained for war. Jones said that in an all-out war he'd be willing to fight. But fellow sophomore Navy cadet Rob Swanekamp isn't so sure. "There's not so many people around who still believe in it (war)," he said. "It's there, and there's always got to be somebody wat- ching out just in case." And freshperson Army cadet Lori Ferguson said she's a pacifist at heart who "would rather die than kill anyone." One of the 40 women out of nearly 400 ROTC students on campus, Ferguson "looks at the military as peace-oriented instead of war- oriented." "Very few people put on the war monger stuff," said Jones. "You can't tell if it's an act or not, but people just don't pay atten- tion to them." "A lot of people in the unit are a little more close-minded than the normal U of M student," acknowledged Swanekamp. "But I know them a lot better than most other students. . . they're just your basic redneck views." Jones, however, said one has to be careful when comparing ROTC cadets to students at the University. "Michigan is known for its liberal views. It's all relative-ROTCs here are more liberal than others," he said. "We get more ultra-conservatives, but if -you discount them there's pretty much a cross-section," Marquardt stated. Charles Ahnell, Army ROTC junior in- structor, also sees a cross-section as far as mental ability is concerned. "We've got the brainy right down to the average academic student," he commen- ted. A LTHOUGH ROTC is blending in (or is at least being tolerated) on campus nowadays, a large obstacle from the Vietnam era still lies in the program's path-lack of All eyes are front as Air Force ROTC sophomores Dennis Winkler, Bill Ochs and Jeff Anderson stand ir le it from the mainstream of g's interior is solidly ed color portraits of Jimmy rnder-in-chief of the armed several corridors, keeping other well-known military one building looks sedate ware passers-by would har- less than a decade ago, 2,000 med the building's front g an end to the Vietnam War OTC itself. rubbed, tidy appearance of Adier-suited cadets striding evoke only novel stares-no e has any student said tory to me when I wear my pus," said Capt. Terry Luet: e ROTC recruitment officer or for special events. Despite the occasional stares and whispers, some ROTC cadets on campus even enjoy the way they stand out. "I think if we showed off our uniforms more it would get more students interested (in the military)," contended Marquardt. "If people saw us more in uniform they would come to accept us more." Few students admitted to accepting ROTC during the 60's. With same fervor demon- strated by those who denounced the program, cadets on campus were firmly committedto supporting the military. "In the 60's, there was an esprit de corps . . . students involved tended to be more committed than either prior to or since that period," recalled Glenn Garlough, equip- ment supervisor for -Army and Air Force ROTC and the only staff member still around from a decade ago. "I joined because I want to fly," said Tom Verschure, an Air Force ROTC freshman.' "I'll have a guaranteed job after I graduate." Some consider service to the country an important reason for joing the military. "I'm a struggling pre-med and the military is a good place to practice social medicine ... it's also a good way for people to serve their country-defense of the country is crucial," said freshman Army cadet Paul Sarvela. Sarvela's consideration for the country is an exception. For most ROTC participants, the personal security motives are of such importance that the real purpose of ROTC -to prepare college-educated officers for military functions-is almost overlooked. The ROTC students today may see war films or study what happened back during such-and-such a conflict in their military science course. Some learn about combat accreditation. At the height of anti-military activity on campus in 1970, the Literary College (LSA) voted to eliminate all credit for ROTC courses; members of an LSA subcommittee having found the program's course materials to be "dismal and propagandist." (Other schools, such as Engineering and Natural Resources, have always given varying degrees of credit for ROTC cour- ses). The issue was brought before the LSA faculty again in 1975, and once more defeated by a wide margin. Norman Anschuetz, an Army cadet and chairman of a student group to bring back credit for ROTC, doesn't want to see that happen again. "In the past there's been a high degree of emotional elements involved," he said. "People haven't looked at it from a rational -point of view." He notes that the University is the only Big Ten school which does not give ROTC credit in its literary college. His sentiments are echoed among program staffers. "I feel bad teaching to some who get credit and some who don't," complains Richard Parker, an Army ROTC instructor. Parker points out that the LSA faculty vote in 1975 did not reflect the fin- dings of a curriculum committee, which decided that the program had changed its content since the 1970 decision and had become worthy of accreditation. There are still strongholds of opposition among LSA faculty members, however.-Ar- thur Mendel, a history professor, said at the ,time of the ROTC credit cut that the step wasn't drastic enough, and that the entire program should be eliminated. That was eight years ago, but the professor still holds to his past sentiments: "I appreciate and support the need of military service, but the University is the last place it should be associated with," Mendel declares. "The whole character of it is more on the lines of an extra-curricular activity." Mendell says that opposition to ROTC credit still remains among faculty mem- bers-at least among those who were around at the time of the original controver- sy. "It was a widely held view (not to give ROTC credit) and there has been no change since the 1960's . . . except that there are a number of people more radically inclined who are no longer on campus.". Meanwhile, cadets in LSA remain naturally unhappy with the situation, but it doesn't seem to hinder their military par- ticipation. "We have no right to say that music majors si out one Army ca that about us, si: on us someday?' N ADDITI within thei several ho week. The varies from one I Army ROTC it National Secur typical of ROT political scienc regimented insti The only thing di any ordinary U military trapping insights on the alliances. Maps of the wt chart depicting medals added tI green walls of th student-teacher cordial, and the dents present se regular classroo an eight o'clock c See Richard Berke is a Daily staff writer "Never onc anything deroga uniform on camj tinger, Air Forc U Doily Photo by JOHN KNOX Daily Photo by Al Army Sergeant John Thomason oversees John Lim, as the sophomore cadet handles a rifle. Army ROTC sophomores Mary Slavinsky and Ruth Irelan listen attentively dunr r _ -4t Air Force ROTC senior Randy Foley commands a group of sophomore cadets during a lea in the Central Campus Recreation Building.