Reserve Officers Training Corps

The California Assembly voted Tuesday to ask the federal government to cut off funding to college campuses that ban the Reserve Officer Training Corps. The vote was 42-26 for the resolution by Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange). An opponent asked for a second vote at a future session, delaying the measure's move to the Senate. Conroy said several California State University campuses are phasing out ROTC programs because of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward gays.

Uniforms will be mandatory this fall for some students at Orange High School--those who sign up for the Marines' Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program on the campus. Orange Unified School District trustees approved the program, the first in the district and one of only 35 new Marine JROTC programs nationwide to begin the next school year, Assistant Supt. Neil McKinnon said. New ROTC programs must be approved by the secretary of the Navy.

The principals of Newport-Mesa Unified School District's four high schools are considering applying to have junior ROTC on campus. "We have a lot of students who are interested in outside organizations and I think it would be a good opportunity for them to explore," said Estancia Principal Peggy Anatol. "It offers a lot of discipline." The four principals attended a meeting with a junior Reserve Officer Training Corps instructor to discuss the program.

The marching, flag-raising and single-file roll calls are the same as they were decades ago. But a rebirth of the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps--and new approaches to teaching the program--have swelled the ranks of high school students signing up to be cadets. In Los Angeles' public schools, the number of participants has shot up by more than 40% since 1992, according to the Los Angeles Unified School District.

In a time of financial crisis and cutbacks for the William S. Hart Union High School District, the ROTC program was a tempting target. Out of a total of 7,200 high school students in the district, only about 100 are enrolled in the military training program, which costs the district $962 per student, compared to about $313 for other classes. And this at a time when the district's general fund is losing more than $2 million a year. But when the board had the chance, did it eliminate ROTC?

It takes an unloaded gun to get sophomore Alonso Celedon to remove his gold hoop earring once a week. The jewelry just wouldn't pass inspection. Every Thursday, Celedon and about 160 of his Katella High School classmates trade in everyday clothes for the crisp uniforms and regimented world of the U.S. Army's Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. "I like the rifles and the marching," said Celedon, 17, who sports a buzz haircut. "I just put my earring back when I take off my uniform."

Pacifica High School will be in the Navy soon. Beginning with the 1996-97 school year, Pacifica students may enroll in the U.S. Navy's Junior Reserve Officer Training program at school. The course in naval history, navigation and oceanography is designed to encourage an interest in school and the Navy. To foster leadership skills, the Navy also requires JROTC students to participate in community activities such as neighborhood cleanups and parades.

Nerves are raw at area campuses after potential threats of violence emerged at two Southland schools, coming at the end of a month that has seen a spate of deadly shootings across the nation. Many parents of students at one Anaheim high school planned to keep their children home today and police plan a major campus presence after a cryptic message was published in the school newspaper.

tall, muscular, his head cleanshaven -- has soldiered through battles in Bosnia, Kuwait and Somalia. He has patrolled Korea's DMZ. None of that prepared him, though, for the attacks he has faced as senior teacher in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps at Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights, where students and teachers have launched a crusade against military recruiting and JROTC.

Tim Casper, a crew cut-sporting 15-year-old from Victorville, peered into the computer monitor and hunched slightly as he maneuvered the video game's soldier into a flanking position. Using a keyboard, Casper ordered the soldier to lob a grenade, then slap a new magazine into his assault rifle. Creeping past the burned-out shell of a Humvee, the soldier fired a quick burst into the back of what looked like the enemy.