To the Editor:
I am writing to correct some misinformation about the ROTC program included in the Wednesday, Oct. 12 article, "SA funds walkathon, plans mock standards hearing," about discussions at a recent Student Assembly meeting. The article quoted a current ROTC participant as saying that Dartmouth is one of only three Ivy League schools not to give ROTC participants full scholarships, and that Dartmouth awards only $7,000 per person.
Dartmouth (along with every other Ivy school) awards need-based financial aid to ROTC participants in the same way that it does to all Dartmouth students eligible for aid and meets the full demonstrated needs of students. In addition, ROTC participants may apply for special Army ROTC scholarships. Dartmouth has no control over the award or amount of those scholarships. They are administered by the Army. ROTC participants at some Ivy schools receive larger Army scholarships than those that have been made available to Dartmouth participants. Dartmouth has requested that the Army increase the value of the scholarships awarded to our cadets so that they are on a par with those given to cadets at some of our peer institutions. Last June during Commencement weekend, following the ROTC commissioning ceremony, College President James Wright met with General Allan Thrasher, who was responsible for the Army's ROTC program at the time, to request an increase in the Army scholarships for Dartmouth students and to describe Dartmouth's ongoing support for the ROTC program. The College is hoping to hear a positive response from the Army, and we will continue to advocate for an increase in the Army scholarships until we do.
