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| {{tag>organizations military}} | {{tag>organizations military}} |
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| ~~REDIRECT>wiki:denied~~ | |
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| ====== Air Force Reserves Officers Training Corps ====== | ====== Air Force Reserves Officers Training Corps ====== |
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| Trinity's unit was one in a network of 175 supplying the Air Force with close to a third of its officers. It occupied the old psychology labs and classrooms on the third floor of [[boardman_hall|Boardman Hall]], where an American flag flew above the fire escape. ((Trinity Tripod, 04/22/1969)) At the height of its enrollment in 1953, there were 553 students, or more than half of the undergraduate student body participating. ((Trinity Reporter, October 1970)) | Trinity's unit was one in a network of 175 supplying the Air Force with close to a third of its officers. It occupied the old psychology labs and classrooms on the third floor of [[boardman_hall|Boardman Hall]], where an American flag flew above the fire escape. ((Trinity Tripod, 04/22/1969)) At the height of its enrollment in 1953, there were 553 students, or more than half of the undergraduate student body participating. ((Trinity Reporter, October 1970)) |
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| Student enrollment in the program declined sharply during the 1960s due to the conflicts in Vietnam and Cambodia. By 1969, 22 were enrolled and in 1970, there were only eight students, all upperclassmen, which fell below the minimum of 10 set by the Air Force. In the spring of 1969, President [[lockwood_theodore_d|Ted Lockwood]] asked both the [[trinity_college_council|Trinity College Council (TCC)]] and the faculty to submit their recommendations on the program. Petitions and editorials demanded the College sever all connections with the Department of Defense, in order to assert its opposition of American foreign policy, namely, complicity with military imperialism. "Already, for example, 85% of the Army's second lieutenants are ROTC graduates," one //[[tripod|Trinity Tripod]]// editorial stated. "Where is the humanism these ROTC graduates are expected to impart to the military? Undoubtedly any Vietnamese whose home and nation has been destroyed by our military would be interested in knowing what happened to the humanism of officers trained on America's campuses." ((Trinity Tripod, 04/22/1969)) Other arguments against the R.O.T.C. included it being a vocational and pre-professional program, not an academic one. Originally, faculty voted to keep R.O.T.C. with academic credit, while students participated in protests against "U.S. military exploits and political repression" including "the elimination of all defense department related activities on college campuses, including research and ROTC." ((Trinity Tripod, 05/05/1970)) | Student enrollment in the program declined sharply during the 1960s due to the conflicts in Vietnam and Cambodia. By 1969, 22 were enrolled and in 1970, there were only eight students enrolled, all upperclassmen, which fell below the minimum of 10 set by the Air Force. In the spring of 1969, President [[lockwood_theodore_d|Ted Lockwood]] asked both the [[trinity_college_council|Trinity College Council (TCC)]] and the faculty to submit their recommendations on the program. Petitions and editorials demanded the College sever all connections with the Department of Defense, in order to assert its opposition of American foreign policy, namely, complicity with military imperialism. "Already, for example, 85% of the Army's second lieutenants are ROTC graduates," one //[[tripod|Trinity Tripod]]// editorial stated. "Where is the humanism these ROTC graduates are expected to impart to the military? Undoubtedly any Vietnamese whose home and nation has been destroyed by our military would be interested in knowing what happened to the humanism of officers trained on America's campuses." ((Trinity Tripod, 04/22/1969)) Other arguments against the R.O.T.C. included it being a vocational and pre-professional program, not an academic one. Originally, faculty voted to keep R.O.T.C. with academic credit, while students participated in protests against "U.S. military exploits and political repression" including "the elimination of all defense department related activities on college campuses, including research and ROTC." ((Trinity Tripod, 05/05/1970)) |
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| In 1969, the TCC voted 7 to 5 to disband the R.O.T.C. program. In the fall of 1970, the Air Force and Trinity College mutually agreed to discontinue it, citing its low numbers. The program terminated in June 1971. | In 1969, the TCC voted 7 to 5 to disband the R.O.T.C. program. In the fall of 1970, the Air Force and Trinity College mutually agreed to discontinue it, citing its low numbers. The program terminated in June 1971. |
