Students pass on Uncle Sam

Metro-area schools see rise in those dodging recruiters

Berny Morson, Rocky Mountain News

Published January 30, 2006 at midnight

Text size

More Education

More stories »

Don't call. Don't write.

That's the message many Denver-area high school students are sending to military recruiters, school officials say.

High schools are required by federal law to give military recruiters the names of students nearing graduation. Recruiters then work the list by phone and mail.

But an increasing number of students in some of the largest metro- area school districts are signing a form that lets them remove their names from the list, according to data obtained from high school and district officials.

In Jefferson County, the state's largest school district, 25 percent of juniors signed the opt-out form this fall, up from 13 percent in fall 2004.

In neighboring Douglas County, opt-outs increased from 51 percent last school year to 55 percent this school year.

In Denver, opt-outs went from 5.3 percent of students in 2001-02 to 25.5 percent in 2004-05. The district hasn't compiled data for the current school year.

The war in Iraq is on the minds of many students, although it's not necessarily the chief reason that many opt out.

"I just don't feel comfortable going into the service," said Andrew Shaffer, 17, of Westminster, a senior at Pomona High School in Jefferson County.

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Brodeur, commander of the Denver Army Recruiting Battalion, said he still has plenty of names and recruits. The battalion serves an area from southern Colorado to the Canadian border.

Army statistics show that 225 seniors enlisted in fiscal year 2005, which ended Oct. 10. That's up from 163 seniors who joined the Army in fiscal year 2004.

The Army's Wheat Ridge district, which covers western and northern parts of the Denver area, saw high school recruits increase from 27 to 35. Recruits increased from 14 to 35 in the district that covers the south and east parts of the metro area.

"The number of students who want to serve their country is increasing," Brodeur said.

The Army did not meet recruiting targets for seniors in 2005, but then it hasn't met the targets in any year since 1999.

The Army announced last week that it will double cash enlistment bonuses, raising the possible combination of amounts to $40,000 for the active Army and $20,000 for the Army Reserve.

School officials said they don't know why the number of opt-outs is going up.

Some parent groups have been vocal in opposition to military recruiting, said Mark Langston, assistant principal at Monarch High School in the Boulder Valley School District. But Monarch students themselves haven't been rallying against the war, he said.

The school is not interested in getting involved in the issue, Langston said.

"There is an opt-out clause in the law and we put it on our form," he said. The form includes about a dozen other sign-offs that students and parents get at the beginning of the school year.

Answers to the recruiting question may not represent a considered opinion about the military - or anything else, Langston said.

"They can sign yes and they can sign no, and some parents don't read it enough - they sign both," he said. "They're flying down this two-sided form, is what they're doing."

Sixty-two percent of Monarch juniors and seniors opted out this school year, up from 58.5 percent last year.

Jim Butterfield, an assistant principal at Fairview High School, said students and parents may opt out because they are fed up with telephone solicitors.

"They just don't want any more phone calls," Butterfield said.

Three out of four Fairview students opted out this year, up from 67 percent last year.

"Even if there was no war, I wouldn't be interested in the military," said Alex Woods, 18, a Fairview senior. He hopes to become a research scientist.

Anna Zelinskaya, 17, also a Fairview senior, said she is not swayed by college scholarships that military recruiters promise.

"There are other scholarships I can get, and I don't have to die," said Zelinskaya, who wants to study actuarial science in college.

That view is echoed across town at Boulder High School.

"The whole getting-shot-at thing - I have better things I want to do," said Luke Rothschild, 16, a junior.

Cassidy Kahn, 17, a senior, wants to go to art school.

"I personally don't want to join the Army in any way," Kahn said.

The Iraq war has no bearing on it, Kahn said. She and her friends rarely discuss it.

"I don't know enough about it to take a side," she said. "I know I don't want to be in it."

Fairview senior Lulu Feingold has more definite feelings about U.S. foreign policy.

"I don't feel patriotic, especially now," she said. "I disagree with a lot of the policies of the United States."

She signed the opt-out form.

Liz Daley, 16, a junior at Pomona High School who lives in Arvada, said she did not sign the opt-out form. She's considering the Navy or the Air Force, both of which offer flight programs.

"I feel it will really be an interesting thing to do," Daley said.

She'll use the college scholarship money she earns to major in business and culinary arts. Her dream is to open a small restaurant where bands can play.

The Iraq war doesn't deter her.

"I think we could have made a better decision than going in there and ruining everything," Daley said. "It's good that we're rebuilding everything we destroyed, but we could have made a better decision in the first place."

Robert Washington, 19, a senior at Denver's West High School, said the military could be a good opportunity, but he hasn't made up his mind whether to join.

Washington was in ROTC before dropping out for a semester. He was back earlier this month, but isn't sure he will have time for ROTC.

Washington said Iraq wouldn't deter him if he decides to join up.

"Everybody is scared the first time out there," he said. "You just have to hold onto your faith and see if you make it."

Military recruiting opt-outs

Schools are not required to keep records of how many students opt out of allowing military recruiters to contact them. Data is sketchy and districts keep the numbers in different forms. But the trend is clear among some of the metro area's largest school districts.

• Jeffco Public Schools

Eligible Opt- students outs %

2004-05 6,674 867 13

2005-06 6,664 1,691 25

• Douglas County

2004-05 5,157 2,636 51

2005-06 5,624 3,105 55

• Adams 12 Five Star Schools

2004-05 2,231 369 17

2005-06 2,349 570 24

• Denver Public Schools

2001-02 3,761 199 5.3

2002-03 3,788 443 11.7

2003-04 3,499 560 16

2004-05 3,541 902 26

• Cherry Creek Schools: Schools did not report numbers for last school year. This year, percentages opting out for selected high schools were: Cherry Creek, 67 percent; Overland, 20 percent; Eaglecrest, 75 percent; and Smoky Hill, 56 percent.

• Boulder Valley School District: About 75 percent of juniors opted out in 2004 and 2005. Boulder High School saw a decline in the number of students opting out of recruiting - an anomaly in a part of the state where anti-war sentiment is fierce. In 2004-05, 1,111 Boulder High students took advantage of the opt-out. This school year, the number was 701.

*Dps Has Not Compiled Figures For This Year

morsonb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-442-8729

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News