The 'Leave My Child Alone' Movement

[Guest guest]

http://www.alternet.org/rights/23218/

 

The 'Leave My Child Alone' Movement

 

By Rebecca Romani, Left Turn. Posted June 29, 2005.

 

Main Street Moms are mad about military recruiting at high schools and

they're becoming a force to reckon with.

 

It looked like any average parent meeting with a sprinkling of

twenty-somethings and senior citizens, complete with pizza, fries and

speakers. But for these people coming out to a pizza parlor on a

weeknight, the main attraction was not the food but an earnest

discussion of the presence of military recruiters on high school

campuses and a little known document called the " opt-out " form.

 

The almost 100 people who turned out in the San Diego region, a

heavily militarized area home to a Marine base and Navy Seals, were

part of a nation-wide call to meet on the first day of June, put out

by MMOB, The Main Street Moms Operation Blue. MMOB, a relatively new

grassroots group, is taking a page out of the Howard Dean playbook and

rallying people though a well-orchestrated internet campaign.

 

According to Charlie Imes, chair of the local chapter of Democracy for

America (DFA), the MMOB contacted him and asked him to put the

Military Recruiter discussion at the top of the night's agenda. " They

asked and I said great, " said Imes, who was enthusiastic about the

night's turnout.

 

Twenty miles north in Carlsbad, dozens of people turned out to hear

speakers and to fill out opt out forms, according to Jeeni Criscenzo,

a member of the North County Peace and Justice Coalition who

coordinated the event with MMOD.

 

The opt out form is provided for in section 9528, A, 1. of the No

Child Left Behind Act, in part, because school receiving federal

funding are required to provide the following:

 

" 1) ACCESS TO STUDENT RECRUITING INFORMATION- Notwithstanding section

444(a)(5)(B) of the General Education Provisions Act and except as

provided in paragraph (2), each local educational agency receiving

assistance under this Act shall provide, on a request made by military

recruiters or an institution of higher education, access to secondary

school students names, addresses, and telephone listings... " in

addition to granting recruiters physical access to the campus or lose

much needed federal funds.

(http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg112.html)

 

The opt out form makes the child's information unavailable to military

recruiters and puts the child on a do not call list. Federal law

requires school districts to inform parents about the opt out form.

While some school districts list the form on either the school

district website or the high school website, the San Diego school

district does not.

 

A brief glance at MMOB's website showed at least 20 such meetings

planned for June 1, from Bakersfield to Boston. More are listed

throughout the month of June.

 

In addition to falling recruitment numbers and the rising casualty

list in Iraq, it appears that military recruiters are now facing a

new, aggressive force on the home front: Mom and Dad. Moms like Jane

Doe, 55, who asked that her real name not be used because she works

for a government firm. She strenuously objects to the presence of

military recruiters on high school campuses. " Every parents needs to

know what's in the No Child Left Behind Act, " she says, referring to

section 9528. " They [minors] can't vote, can't make a legal decision

and yet the government has access to them before the age of consent! "

She shakes her head, incredulous. " This is private information; no one

should be releasing this. "

 

Gabe Sandoval, 33, and his mother Lynn, are more blunt about their

dislike of recruiter access. " It's a backdoor way of getting

recruits, " says the younger Sandoval, " An alternate to the draft. "

 

" I am really against this, " adds his mother. " They [recruiters]

mislead young people and don't fulfill their promises. "

 

" Especially towards minorities, " her son adds.

 

Recent news stories have reported that military recruiters are

targeting young minorities, especially Latinos and African-Americans.

In some cases, recruiters have been accused of sexual misconduct,

including sexual harassment and rape.

 

Mernie Aste of the local Ya No Project, which counsels young people on

the military and educates them on their options, feels meetings like

this are especially important. " It's not about just my child, it's

about everybody's child, " she says. " There's a real need to counteract

the recruiter's presence, " she adds. Aste plans to attend additional

public events as well as parents meetings and tell others about the

opt out option.

 

That's exactly what Imes wants to hear. " This administration has been

increasingly stepping on the Constitution, " he says. " It's really

important to use our voices and our willingness to be heard. " He looks

at the people still inside at the meeting. " We're already having some

impact and it will pick up steam over time, " Imes predicts.