Student Leadership on the Draft and War
1 2017-04-26T16:31:26-07:00 Jason Gill 5bb9b07602800e45b99396dffa25138241f44703 9417 4 Letter containing responses from the ASUPS president and student leadership to the draft and the Vietnam War plain 2017-04-30T17:37:43-07:00 [A&SC 31] "From the Desk of Clay Loges." The Trail, 1967, p. 3. Archives and Special Collections, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA. Jason Gill 5bb9b07602800e45b99396dffa25138241f44703This page is referenced by:
-
1
2017-04-21T12:37:42-07:00
Draft Responses
16
plain
2017-05-02T11:25:07-07:00
While not directly related to the Now, Mr. Lincoln? campaign, the draft was a major concern for the Puget Sound community in the late 60s and thus an important element of campus climate. The draft was never popular on campus, and indeed, it was a focus for much of the protest which went on. Throughout 1967 and in early 1968, concerns surrounding the draft received more coverage in The Trail than those of race, and were the most consistently visible political issue in the paper. Between October 1967 and March 1968 there were eight major articles related to the draft, including three on protests of it and two on ways of avoiding it. While The Trail never openly advocated draft-dodging, likely due to potential legal repercussions, it nonetheless sought to provide ample coverage on efforts against the draft as well as alternative plans. The fact that the draft was emphasized to a greater degree than race for so long is likely a product of the campus being a largely white community, for whom compulsory military service hit closer to home than racial discrimination.
Student opinions on the draft and military were not monolithic, of course, and there was significant variation in attitudes toward both. At the time, Puget Sound had an Air Force ROTC program which trained students who were interested in a military career in the skills needed to be an officer in the Air Force. The fact that the program was both fairly successful and highly publicized indicates the level of support it enjoyed on campus. On the flip side, however, there were students who were adamantly opposed to all forms of militarism, with some even believing that the military should be abolished. Some of these students openly stated that, in the event that they were drafted, they would refuse to comply. Furthermore, at least one military recruitment event on campus was protested by anti-war activists. [A&SC 31].
Interestingly, The Trail, in its May 10, 1968 issue, made passing mention of an "anti-ROTC petition," suggesting increasingly widespread opposition on campus to military associations [A&SC 32]. In light of the increasingly liberal stance of the campus community on race, it is likely that opposition to the increasingly-costly Vietnam War, and the mechanisms seen as enabling it, was another aspect of a growing liberal activism on campus."I have no feelings against doing my duty, just because you don't understand a conflict doesn't mean that you shouldn't do your part. I feel my duty is to serve in the armed forces, others may feel their duty is to protest". [A&SC 31].
