AFSC wants same access to public school students as military

By Crystal Carlson 

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker organization devoted to peace and social justice and based in the South Loop at 637 S. Dearborn St., has asked the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to issue a new policy addressing U.S. military recruitment in schools and giving the AFSC the same access to students as the military. In response, CPS administrators are considering strengthening their equal access policy.

            AFSC members addressed the CPS Board of Education on Aug. 22. Referring to CPS as “the most militarized public school system in the country,” the AFSC demanded access to schools “to counter heavy military presence,” said an AFSC spokesperson.

            Federal law requires that any schools providing access to college and employment recruiters must permit the same access to military recruiters.

            Typically, military recruiters are allowed at CPS student job fairs, designated lunchroom tables, and counselors’ offices. They may not discuss military options in hallways or classrooms, however.

            The AFSC has criticized CPS delays in allowing the AFSC into schools. The organization believes CPS military recruitment has reached an all-time high, and it wants to counter such efforts with information about non-military options for students' futures.

            “Military recruiters have always trolled the schools, but the No Child Left Behind Act made it so that they could do so far more easily,” said Oskar Castro of the AFSC and the National Youth and Militarism Program. “So while marketing the military is an age-old tradition, the fact of the matter is that only in [recent] years has it gotten to the level of sophistication that we see now.”

            Federal law also requires school districts to provide students’ directory (address) information to the military unless they or their parents opt out by asking that information not be given to the armed services. Many students and parents do not know about the opt-out provision, however. The AFSC wants to ensure the Board of Education gives all high school students opt-out forms enabling them to prevent disclosure of their information to recruiters.

            The AFSC refers to its efforts as “counter-recruitment,” and Castro explained the AFSC's methods. “The real work happens behind the scenes when we talk to school personnel, school board leaders, etc., to help them understand that their students, our nation’s children, are being sold to something that has a variety of pitfalls associated with it. We feel it is their responsibility to protect our public school children from harm and from naively making important life decisions whenever possible.”

            A CPS spokesperson said, “We do not view this as a ‘counter-recruitment’ issue.  We expect groups who oppose careers in the military to provide meaningful information that will assist students in making decisions related to post-secondary education and careers.”

CPS’s policy is to offer equal access to all organizations that provide information about possible careers following high school, including those that offer alternatives to the military, but some organizations such as the AFSC claim they are not always allowed to talk to students.

CPS’s spokesperson countered, “Our sole purpose in allowing equal access is to provide our students with information that will help them make informed post-secondary education and career choices. In our experience, military recruiters and the groups who oppose careers in the military understand and agree with the scope of this access and have abided by it.”

The AFSC nevertheless remains dissatisfied with the CPS’s implementation of the equal access policy, and they are not alone in their counter-recruitment mission. Several social justice organizations have united to form the Chicagoland Coalition Opposed to the Militarization of Youth (CCOMY). 

            Amy Meyers of CCOMY explained why these organizations seek equal CPS access, saying, “I think current wars have heightened people’s awareness of the military and their recruiting tactics. Many people involved do not blame the recruiters or the recruits," but with job options "limited" because of "the way our economic system is set up,” Meyers said, some youth see few alternatives to the military. Groups such as the CCOMY and AFSC want to change that.

            The Board of Education responded to recruitment concerns raised by AFSC and other organizations by considering a new, stronger equal access policy aimed at providing formal guidelines for use of school buildings by military recruiters and those offering alternatives to the armed forces.

            “AFSC recently discussed its concerns at the board meeting and then with the CPS Law Department,” said CPS’s spokesperson. “Those concerns will be taken into account as we draft the new equal access policy.”