To the Editor:
I am writing in response to Welton Chang's op-ed titled "Supporting Those Who Serve," (Jan. 24). I would argue that the issue of underfunding ROTC scholarships reflects an organizational distaste for the armed services, which is an educational mistake. Dartmouth cannot afford to ignore the armed forces because they are an important part of American culture that needs Dartmouth's talented graduates, too. Military service after graduation should be treasured by any academic institution, but especially by Dartmouth.
The armed services offer an opportunity to apply the skills that Dartmouth has taught us in an environment in sore need of them. The military, beleaguered by scandals of human rights abuse, sexual assault and racism, needs leaders at all levels. Why should Dartmouth not be eager to fill this need? A soldier is an ambassador to his or her country and culture. Every action that he or she takes reverberates through newspapers, radios and television sets all over the world. This is a calling that Dartmouth should meet. If Dartmouth wishes to be a leader in the educational world, it should push its graduates to all corners of the world as emissaries of our educations, even if this means being emissaries in Iraq and Afghanistan. The College's listlessness concerning its Army ROTC program is detrimental not only to the program but to Dartmouth as a whole. Dartmouth needs to support those who want to serve and make their own kind of difference in the world wholeheartedly.
This means that the financial aid department should contact the Defense Department, whose telephone number they've been given, to negotiate scholarships equivalent to those given to other Ivies. This means the registrar's office should at least mention that ROTC courses were taken on transcripts. This means the Dean of the College should negotiate with the Department of the Army for a full-time non-commissioned officer as an ROTC instructor. Moreover, this means that the administration should be willing to go up to bat for one of its oldest and, I would argue, most important organizations when that organization is in need. The U.S. military needs leaders who will represent our nation to the world's eyes. Dartmouth must heed this call for ambassadors and embrace its students who wish to serve. Support ROTC in government scholarships, transcript recognition and instructors. Failure to do so is failure of our educational institution.
