To the Editor:
We are told that the return of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps on campus would mean being able to give quality leaders to the Army. If by quality you mean educated, then the Ivy League does not need ROTC to provide that. What we do need are better scholarships on a need basis and better mentoring for the poorest — so as to offer them another option than choosing the army in order to get a better education.
If Brown really cares about those kids, don't give them the means to die as cannon fodder — give them better scholarships. Reach out to Rhode Island's badly failing school system. Talk to them and mentor them. As educators, we should make a difference, but the school system in this country is so bad that the only kind of mentoring some kids receive is through the army. And having to wonder if that kid is going to make it to the end of his or her tour in Iraq is not a nice outlook as an instructor.
Believe it or not, Brown's students fought to kick the army out because of an unfair and unjust war, and we still have that in 2011, repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" notwithstanding.
The betterment of oneself should not have to be made through risking one's life for no other reason than having no prospects. If being in the army truly means the betterment of your life — if it's truly what you want to do — I respect that choice. But let's offer kids who are 16 years old another avenue than going to war to pay for education.
Anne-Caroline Sieffert GS
