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2005
Proposal to Return ROTC
2005
Compendium: Case for ROTC at Columbia
Columbia Info Page
Handout for 15 April 2005 Senate debate
on ROTC
Program &
Transcript: 25 April
2005 ROTC Panel
Positions Statement of Students
United for America
2005:
Top 18 Reasons to Return ROTC
Letter from Admiral Lowe, CC '51, to
Provost Brinkley
The Solomon Amendment
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Columbia University has a long and storied history of partnership with and
support for the armed forces. Reminders amid Columbia's hallowed halls
speak silently of a proud tradition of military service. The helmeted bust
of Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of war, a patron Columbia shares with
West Point, stands prominently in the foyer of Low Memorial Library.
Colonel Alexander Hamilton's statue stands guard in front of Hamilton
Hall. The portrait of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, graduate and former
university president, looks down the main stairwell in Butler Library.
Outside Butler Library, a plaque commemorates the 23,000 Navy midshipmen
who trained at Columbia and served in World War II. A memorial to Columbia
graduate John Mitchell, a combat pilot who died in World War I, rests on
the outside wall of Hamilton Hall.
Prior to the Vietnam War, Columbia cadets had peacefully
coexisted with their classmates since the inception of ROTC in 1916.
Columbia’s dedication to service was profound—at one point in its history
the university was producing more officers per year than even the U.S.
Naval Academy. In spite of Columbia's military tradition, the
administration effectively barred ROTC programs from campus in 1969 to appease
student protesters and disgruntled faculty. When the war in Vietnam ended
in 1975, students resumed their studies and the protests faded away.
Columbia's policy on ROTC, however, has remained to this day.
The goal of Advocates for Columbia ROTC—sponsored by the
Hamilton Society, the university’s student organization dedicated to
military service—is to generate support at Columbia for ROTC and the corps
of cadets. Currently cadets must travel to host institutions in the Bronx
weekly to take part in ROTC classes and labs. Yet, despite this extensive
time commitment, Columbia does little to support its cadets or assist them
with the inevitable scheduling conflicts and administrative issues.
Furthermore, Columbia neither grants credit for ROTC courses nor
recognizes them as an official part of the students curriculum. It is our
aim to change this, and thereby return to Columbia its proud status as a
source of great military leadership.
For more information please
contact us
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