Another Step Backwards

Yesterday (November 15), the San Francisco Board of Education banned JROTC (Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp) for the 7 high schools within their grasp, removing the opportunity for the more than 1600 students in the program. This action is not only tragic, it is a violation of citizens rights.

First off, there is no justification to ban this program, but they tried to anyways: Apparently high school students are too "vulnerable" and would be influenced to heavily by a program like the JROTC. What kind of message is this sending to people within that school district and around the nation about our military? This is an insult to our armed forces and should not be tolerated.

One must also ask: Where is the ACLU on this? If a Gay/Lesbian club had been banned, you better believe they would be all over it. Now we have over 1600 students with parental consent and an interest in these activities who cannot take part simply because the school board believes in these San Francisco values of an evil military.

Our schools should not be deterring students from any choice of career or lifestyle, and simply because a minority of people in the San Francisco area believe our military is unethical or unjust does not mean stripping students of their right to engage in the activites they choose to participate in.

Our troops on all levels deserve an undivided level of respect, admiration and gratitude from us. Acts such as this only make fighting a tough enemy even tougher, and divides our nation even further. This division will only hurt us in the long run and make America a more dangerous place. Do not tolerate these actions out on the west coast. Remember, "United we Stand, Divided we Fall."