Last year, President George W. Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act, forcing sweeping educational reforms onto America's public schools. Buried deep in the 670 pages of higher standards and responsibility placement, however, is a much more sinister precedent; the act states that all public secondary schools must provide contact information for every student and provide the United States military full access to all facilities. If schools refuse to comply, they risk losing all federal aid.
As George Orwell's notion of "Big Brother" becomes increasingly closer to reality, the battleground has become high schools, where most students are still minors. The law allows students the option of withholding their information from the military, but the student must actively choose to do so, and many high schools are not educating their students on their rights in this regard. This approach is wrong; students should have to choose to have their information distributed, rather than withheld. In order to prevent infringement of a student's right to privacy, the law should mandate that the military must not be given access to a student's records without his or her consent.
For the most part, schools have been forthcoming and accommodating about the policy, not wanting to risk loss of federal funds. While it is clear that schools are acting in their own best interests, the question is raised of whether they are acting in the best interests of their pupils. In the Northeast, some schools have been targeted as being anti-military, a sentiment which has been frowned upon in America during the past year. With student apathy still a problem across the nation, it is unlikely for this initiative to face any open opposition.
The wording of the policy is open-ended and vague and does not explicitly state that students' information will be used solely for recruitment purposes. If this policy is to remain in place, it needs to be more specific about how it intends to utilize student information acquired from schools. Military recruiters should not be allowed to sell or distribute a student's information, nor should they use it for anything other than recruitment.
The military can be an attractive and worthwhile option for many students. Schools should continue to admit recruitment officers for career days, job fairs and college expositions. Millions of students sign up each year and receive benefits towards college and important skills they can utilize toward their discipline of choice. The military currently spends over 350 million on advertising already, so they are certainly getting their message out to anyone who might be interested.
If the military has free access to a student's records and school facilities, it has breached the student's right to privacy. The next step in this open and unregulated release of information could come from companies claiming that their product is necessary for students and start demanding extensive lists. If we reach the point where the privacy and personal information of a minor is sold out to the highest bidder - and this policy is not so far away - America should be ashamed.
This law exemplifies the terrifying march toward giving up civil liberties in the name of patriotism and national security. If America wants to have students who are proud to fight for freedom, they must teach by example and show students what liberty in America is actually about. The generation that is most susceptible to government propaganda is being submitted to it first hand. If politicians do not battle to protect privacy, parents should intervene on behalf of their children and fight against Big Brother for their constitutionally guaranteed rights.
