For most Brown students, conscription is a remote possibility. Even during wartime, registering for the Selective Service is often the closest encounter many students have with the military.
But several years ago, Herald Staff Writer Shawn Ban '07 roughed it for five days in the jungle without food as part of a training exercise with the Singaporean military. After he completed the grueling survival course, military officials gave him a live quail, with the option of setting it free or eating it.
The decision took little deliberation.
Ban killed the bird with his bare hands, skinned it, cooked it and devoured it.
He may be the only philosophy concentrator who has ever had to face such a dilemma firsthand. "It's the best meal I ever had," he said.
Typical military fare was not as satisfying. "The (Sharpe Refectory) is a major step up, despite what many Brown students may think," Ban said.
Ban, a 22-year-old, is one of many international students who must complete compulsory military service in their home countries.
In total, there are 579 international students from 28 countries studying at Brown that could be subject to military conscription. In addition to Singapore, Austria, Belarus, Bermuda, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Eritrea, Finland, Germany, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine and Venezuela mandate military service.
Three undergraduates have already approached Maggie Zong, assistant director for foreign students, this fall with plans to return home and serve after two years at Brown. The hiatus provides time for reflection on their Brown experience, Zong said.
"They don't want a disruption in the future. I think sometimes it's a good thing for them," she said.
Zong, who served in the Chinese military, said military service gives students a chance to get to know themselves better and become more disciplined. Students who have served before graduation will often have a greater appreciation for the academic opportunities offered at the University, she said.
"It's really wonderful for college-age students," Zong said. "By 18, I truly wanted to go back to school."
Following almost two and a half years in the army, Ban could not have been more eager to come to Brown, he said. Ban attended officer cadet school for 10 months after his two-month basic training. After receiving his commission as a second lieutenant, he spent two years assigned to a platoon of 50 recruits, charged with the task of training them.
While he completes his education at Brown, Ban is exempted from the required two weeks of reservist training.
"It was pretty tough for me. I was fresh out of high school," Ban said. "Shifting from civilian to military life is a huge shift, but once you switch your mindset, it's pretty bearable."
Returning to academia, Ban found himself in a "totally different world," but he was able to incorporate skills and values he learned in the military into his time at Brown. "They're all very intangible values, but they serve me well in philosophy," he said.
Like Ban, Alexander Leyzer '05, a visiting student from Beersheba University in Israel, served as a military instructor for new soldiers. The economics and engineering concentrator was also in charge of operating a sophisticated missile defense system for the air force during his years in the Israeli military, although he never had to deploy the system.
Though it's possible to file as a conscientious objector in Israel and perform alternative service, Leyzer chose to enter the armed forces.
"Unfortunately, Israel has lots of enemies, so there's no choice but to serve," he said. "I have to believe that all Arab countries want to wipe away Israel, but peace takes some time. I think what Israel is doing now are only the first steps."
Alper Celik '08, a biomedical engineering concentrator, has postponed his military service in Turkey until he completes his education. In Turkey, all able-bodied male citizens ages 20 to 41 must complete compulsory military service for terms varying from six to 15 months. However, citizens who have lived abroad for three years or more can pay a fine to reduce their service to a one-month training program.
Celik advocates reducing the army to a group of professional soldiers. "It would be better to have fewer skilled soldiers than a lot of guys who don't know how to shoot," he said. He wants to attend graduate school, but he said he will have to work in an army hospital performing urine tests and miscellaneous other tasks first.
As a member of the upper class, military service is a burden to Celik, but he said the poor often benefit from the educational opportunities the army makes available. However, the service component is universally dreaded, he said.
"I may end up in the south and swim all day long - it would be a nice vacation, apart from waking up at 6 a.m. every day. Or, I could end up freezing in the north where it snows in August," he said.
Even though he's not scared of firing a gun, Celik said that he will most likely choose to postpone his term of service for as long as possible. This will involve studying in one or even two Ph.D. programs, and after that he may pay the fine and finish his service in one month.
"I've fired a gun maybe once, but it was more of a pistol," he said. "If I have to serve, I'm not risking my life."
