As the military struggles to meet recruitment goals, activists are intensifying efforts to educate parents about how they can delete their teenagers' names from directories that schools are required to provide recruiters under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Their message is simple: All parents or students have to do is put in writing that the school may not release their contact information -- name, address and phone number -- to the military.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday August 10, 2005 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 29 words Type of Material: Correction
Military recruiters -- A photo caption with an article in Sunday's California section about military recruiting of teenagers misidentified Paul Wicker, an activist handing out fliers, as Bill Perkins.
In Santa Ana, a group of women organized community meetings to alert parents about opting out. In Sylmar, student protesters have mobilized a delete-your-name campaign every time recruiters visit campus. And a group of Pacific Palisades activists has visited more than a dozen high schools throughout the region to distribute forms that students can use to strike their names from lists provided to the armed forces.
"We're trying to inform people of their rights," said Erika Herran, 16, a member of the Young Political Activists at Sylmar High School. "They definitely know more than before, but there's still a lot more to be done."
Under the education bill signed by President Bush in 2002, military recruiters must be granted the same access to high school facilities as colleges and prospective employers -- from setting up informational booths in the lunch room to handing out T-shirts to pique students' interest. Additionally, schools must provide student contact information, unless a parent has told the school not to. A school district that fails to comply risks losing federal funding.
Recruiters use the lists to call students and visit them at home to tout the benefits of enlisting in the military. Staff Sgt. Roberto Sanchez, a Marine Corps recruiter in Los Angeles, said the lists were essential to his job.
"It saves us a lot of time in finding the individuals," he said. Without contact information, "everybody would be walking up and down the streets" trying to find possible enlistees.
But critics say that releasing such personal information violates the privacy of students and their parents -- most of whom, educators and activists say, are unaware they can opt out.
"The whole purpose is to educate the parents and the students in our country about what is going on in their campuses and what options are available to protect themselves," said Deborah M. Vasquez, a member of OC Mujeres en Accion, a Santa Ana woman's social justice organization that holds community forums on what it calls the military's "predatory practices."
