To the Editor:
In his Feb. 5 column “ROTC: Return of the Criminals,” Peter Makhlouf ’16 made the claim that “Brown has a rich ‘anti-military,’ anti-war history.” Perhaps his fiery rhetoric precluded actual research, because his historical myopia is disappointing. Similarly disappointing was the unquestioning acceptance of this claim in Taylor Grenawalt’s ’17 Feb. 6 response column “ROTC participants unfairly targeted as criminals.” Brown and its students have been involved in our nation’s wars for nearly all of our history. Brown graduates have served in almost every conflict our nation has engaged in, and several times the University has been transformed into an active military base training future soldiers full time. During the Revolutionary War, University Hall served as a hospital and headquarters for the Continental Army. Many Brown alums have also paid the ultimate price for their service: In World Wars I and II, 218 Brown alums and faculty members lost their lives. Makhlouf, I invite you to look up at the names carved into the stone of Soldier’s Arch the next time you are walking to class. As you pass through, ask yourself: Would I really consider my school’s history “anti-military”?
Walker Mills ’15
