Latest News
10-09-08
By Seth Hemmelgarn
Bay Area Reporter
One of the most controversial measures set to appear on San Francisco's November ballot is Proposition V, an advisory measure that would declare as city policy that students in public high schools have the choice to participate in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps.
The San Francisco Board of Education has voted to phase the program out by the 2009 school year.
The measure on the November ballot is non-binding.
Supporters of the program gathered 13,503 signatures - almost twice the required number - to put a declaration of policy measure on the ballot.
Opponents of JROTC say it's a mechanism for recruiting students into the military and discriminates against LGBT people through its hiring practices. Supporters of the program dispute that, and say it teaches students valuable leadership and community service skills and provides structure for students.
A school district task force has come up with an alternative pilot program that includes an ethnic studies and leadership development course for ninth graders that has started in two schools. Peer Resources is another program many local schools have to help students develop leadership skills.
According to the San Francisco Unified School District, seven high schools in the district have JROTC programs, and in the 2006-07 school year, there were 1,600 students enrolled in the program. School board President Mark Sanchez, one of Prop V's main opponents, said there are now only 500.
The decrease is likely due to the school board voting 4-1, with two absences, in June to eliminate the provision of the physical education credit for JRTOC classes offered in 2008-09.
Students have to have two years of physical education credit to graduate. Before the board's decision, students had been able to enroll in JROTC to fulfill their physical education requirements.
Students support program
Students who are still in the program say that it's helped them focus, and encouraged them to go to college - not the military.
Kevin, a senior at Mission High School who asked that his last name not be used, has been in JROTC for three years. The 18-year-old said the program has "helped me realize there's more to life than just fun and games" and has inspired him to set goals for himself. Kevin said he plans to attend City College for two years, then transfer to the University of California, Davis, where he hopes to study law.
Kevin identifies as bisexual and said his orientation "hasn't been an issue whatsoever" in the program.
Haley Garabato, a sophomore at Mission who's in her second year of JROTC, said, "I didn't really think I wanted to go to college ... I just wanted to hang out with friends." But now she's thinking about what she'll do with her future. Garabato, who's 15 and identifies as bisexual, said one option she's considered is being a doctor.
Sanchez has pointed to a survey last year in which 15.6 percent of 848 students who responded said they were put into the program without their choosing.
However, according to the survey, 41 percent said they joined JROTC because "the program appealed to me; it was my own idea." Almost 84 percent said they were not interested in a military career.
Sanchez, who is now running for District 9 supervisor, acknowledged that the JROTC issue is a difficult one for the LGBT community. But he stands by his proposal to phase out the program and believes it is not appropriate for the military to be in public schools.
Michael Bernick, co-chair of the Prop V campaign, wrote in an e-mail that the measure "has over 300 parents, teachers, and students campaigning door to door and on the street corners in all neighborhoods. We hope all voters will take the chance to speak to these participants. They are the truest voice of the program."
'Recruitment program'
Tommi Avicolli Mecca, a longtime queer activist who's against Prop V, said, "I think we have a good chance of defeating Prop V. I think there's a lot of anti-war sentiment in San Francisco, and people understand, I think, that JROTC is a military recruitment program."
While local LGBT students may not face discrimination within the program, Avicolli Mecca said, "the students who decide to go onto a military career face discrimination because they can't be out."
Colonel Robert Powell Jr. is director of the city's JROTC program and the senior army JROTC instructor at Lincoln High School. Powell said that although they aren't formally required to, JROTC instructors in San Francisco track where students go after high school.
Gerry Paratore, senior army JROTC instructor at Balboa High School, said that last year, two JROTC students from the district got appointments to West Point, and two others indicated they intended to enlist in the military.
But Prop V opponents say there are no statistics on local JROTC enlistment into the military. In July, the school district responded to a request for information on JROTC cadets serving in the armed forces and other data by saying they couldn't find any written material related to the request, which was made by Marc Norton, an opponent of the measure.
Citing a congressional report from 1999, opponents say that nationally, 40 percent of the graduates of the JROTC program eventually join the military services.
Those against the measure also say the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on gays serving openly affects which instructors are eligible to work in the program. Instructors are retired military officers, but opponents say LGBT officers wouldn't make it that far, at least not if they're out.
Mayor Gavin Newsom, the San Francisco Republican Party, and Supervisors Michela Alioto-Pier, Carmen Chu, and Sean Elsbernd are among Prop Vs supporters.
Opponents include Sanchez, the San Francisco Democratic Party, and Supervisors Tom Ammiano, Bevan Dufty, Ross Mirkarimi, Jake McGoldrick, and Chris Daly.
Prop V's opponent's Web site is www.nomilitaryrecruitmentinourschools.org . The proponent's site is www.choicesf.org .
The voter pamphlet, which includes arguments for and against the measure, can be found at www.sfgov.org.
Emotions Run High on JROTC Measure
By Seth Hemmelgarn
Bay Area Reporter
One of the most controversial measures set to appear on San Francisco's November ballot is Proposition V, an advisory measure that would declare as city policy that students in public high schools have the choice to participate in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps.
The San Francisco Board of Education has voted to phase the program out by the 2009 school year.
The measure on the November ballot is non-binding.
Supporters of the program gathered 13,503 signatures - almost twice the required number - to put a declaration of policy measure on the ballot.
Opponents of JROTC say it's a mechanism for recruiting students into the military and discriminates against LGBT people through its hiring practices. Supporters of the program dispute that, and say it teaches students valuable leadership and community service skills and provides structure for students.
A school district task force has come up with an alternative pilot program that includes an ethnic studies and leadership development course for ninth graders that has started in two schools. Peer Resources is another program many local schools have to help students develop leadership skills.
According to the San Francisco Unified School District, seven high schools in the district have JROTC programs, and in the 2006-07 school year, there were 1,600 students enrolled in the program. School board President Mark Sanchez, one of Prop V's main opponents, said there are now only 500.
The decrease is likely due to the school board voting 4-1, with two absences, in June to eliminate the provision of the physical education credit for JRTOC classes offered in 2008-09.
Students have to have two years of physical education credit to graduate. Before the board's decision, students had been able to enroll in JROTC to fulfill their physical education requirements.
Students support program
Students who are still in the program say that it's helped them focus, and encouraged them to go to college - not the military.
Kevin, a senior at Mission High School who asked that his last name not be used, has been in JROTC for three years. The 18-year-old said the program has "helped me realize there's more to life than just fun and games" and has inspired him to set goals for himself. Kevin said he plans to attend City College for two years, then transfer to the University of California, Davis, where he hopes to study law.
Kevin identifies as bisexual and said his orientation "hasn't been an issue whatsoever" in the program.
Haley Garabato, a sophomore at Mission who's in her second year of JROTC, said, "I didn't really think I wanted to go to college ... I just wanted to hang out with friends." But now she's thinking about what she'll do with her future. Garabato, who's 15 and identifies as bisexual, said one option she's considered is being a doctor.
Sanchez has pointed to a survey last year in which 15.6 percent of 848 students who responded said they were put into the program without their choosing.
However, according to the survey, 41 percent said they joined JROTC because "the program appealed to me; it was my own idea." Almost 84 percent said they were not interested in a military career.
Sanchez, who is now running for District 9 supervisor, acknowledged that the JROTC issue is a difficult one for the LGBT community. But he stands by his proposal to phase out the program and believes it is not appropriate for the military to be in public schools.
Michael Bernick, co-chair of the Prop V campaign, wrote in an e-mail that the measure "has over 300 parents, teachers, and students campaigning door to door and on the street corners in all neighborhoods. We hope all voters will take the chance to speak to these participants. They are the truest voice of the program."
'Recruitment program'
Tommi Avicolli Mecca, a longtime queer activist who's against Prop V, said, "I think we have a good chance of defeating Prop V. I think there's a lot of anti-war sentiment in San Francisco, and people understand, I think, that JROTC is a military recruitment program."
While local LGBT students may not face discrimination within the program, Avicolli Mecca said, "the students who decide to go onto a military career face discrimination because they can't be out."
Colonel Robert Powell Jr. is director of the city's JROTC program and the senior army JROTC instructor at Lincoln High School. Powell said that although they aren't formally required to, JROTC instructors in San Francisco track where students go after high school.
Gerry Paratore, senior army JROTC instructor at Balboa High School, said that last year, two JROTC students from the district got appointments to West Point, and two others indicated they intended to enlist in the military.
But Prop V opponents say there are no statistics on local JROTC enlistment into the military. In July, the school district responded to a request for information on JROTC cadets serving in the armed forces and other data by saying they couldn't find any written material related to the request, which was made by Marc Norton, an opponent of the measure.
Citing a congressional report from 1999, opponents say that nationally, 40 percent of the graduates of the JROTC program eventually join the military services.
Those against the measure also say the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on gays serving openly affects which instructors are eligible to work in the program. Instructors are retired military officers, but opponents say LGBT officers wouldn't make it that far, at least not if they're out.
Mayor Gavin Newsom, the San Francisco Republican Party, and Supervisors Michela Alioto-Pier, Carmen Chu, and Sean Elsbernd are among Prop Vs supporters.
Opponents include Sanchez, the San Francisco Democratic Party, and Supervisors Tom Ammiano, Bevan Dufty, Ross Mirkarimi, Jake McGoldrick, and Chris Daly.
Prop V's opponent's Web site is www.nomilitaryrecruitmentinourschools.org . The proponent's site is www.choicesf.org .
The voter pamphlet, which includes arguments for and against the measure, can be found at www.sfgov.org.
