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Texas Youth Fight the War Aimed at Them

By Jordan Buckley, WireTap. Posted April 19, 2006.


A glimpse at the Youth Activists of Austin provides insight into innovative counter-recruitment campaigns nationwide.
cinemavan
Coming to a school near you: military recruitment Cinema Vans.
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A suburban packed full of high school students barreled south toward the Mexican border Tuesday, and while several of the same gaggle of youth had missed classes the week before -- then marching nearly nine miles through the Texas heat from their campus to the state capitol in protest of proposed immigration reforms -- this time around, their absence is excused.

Today, they will present on their dynamic involvement within the so-called "counter-recruitment movement" at the Women and War Conference hosted by South Texas College in McAllen, situated six hours from their home in Austin.

Seldom are teenagers invited to speak at collegiate academic conferences, but the Youth Activists of Austin (YAA!) are growing accustomed to blazing new trails. YAA! -- a citywide coalition of mostly high school-aged social justice enthusiasts -- have drawn broad attention to what they argue are the unacceptable practices of military recruiters within their schools.

Indeed, the pervasive misconduct of military recruiters on a national scale spurred the U.S. Army Recruiting Command to declare a one-day abstention from pursuing enlistments last May, instead allowing them to "refocus on their values."

In January, YAA! unleashed a new campaign to urge the Austin Independent School District (AISD) to follow the lead of other school districts across the country by placing reasonable restrictions on the on-campus activities of military recruiters.

Recently, grassroots campaigns in a number of towns have resulted in policy changes. In Tucson, Ariz., students must initiate interactions with recruiters and not the reverse; in Princeton, N.J., recruiters can only meet with students in the presence of guidance counselors; in Madison, Wis., recruiters are limited to three high school visits a year, and guidance counselors are required to provide information to students on alternatives to military service.

Spurred by these reforms and abuses they had witnessed firsthand, YAA! members drafted a ten-point platform outlining policy changes that they determined fair and necessary to ensuring healthily maintained schools. They began by attending AISD board meetings and relaying their concerns to administrators en masse.

One plank of their proposed platform -- banning military hardware from campuses -- stems from recruiters' attempts to seduce enlistees through the use of spectacular technical equipment, which functions as aggressive advertising for military service and the war rather than examples of technological achievement with academic merit, YAA! argues.

Recently, Travis High School, a predominantly lower-income and nonwhite school located in southern Austin, was visited by one of the Army's Cinema Vans -- a multimillion-dollar 18-wheeler containing highly sophisticated war simulation video games. Educators there informed students that they had to "sign up" for the van to get credit for P.E. class -- a move which put the students' personal information in recruiters' hands, thereby better enabling them to contact these students individually and convince them to enlist.


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Jordan Buckley is a writer based in Austin, Texas, who also works as a guest teacher for the Austin Independent School District.

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A Change is BREWING in this country
Posted by: thinkverybig on Apr 19, 2006 2:35 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I can feel the change coming in this country and it's about time. The first change should be impeaching President BUSH, CHENEY and RUMSFELD. Next is ending corruption, changing campaign finance and making it public not private. No way should a CEO be retiring with 400 million like the EXXON CEO is and gas prices are nearing $3.00. That alone is a travesty and shows that a change is needed more now than ever. If this is the wealthiest country, then why not pay people what they are worth. Slavery is OVER.


I am in the process of creating a website by the name of "WeMustChange.org" and I'm looking for volunteers who might be interested in coming aboard and helping me get this concept off of the ground. I need a website designer, and some talented and creative people who are willing to put forth an effort to make a difference in this world. I am presently pondering websites formats etc. Please email ideas to david@thinkverybig.com

One thing I do want to address is oppression world wide. I need more ideas and view points. Let's make "WeMustChange.org" a household name. I need some good people on my team

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