Community | April 27, 2009 | 7 comments

U.S. Military out of Humboldt County Schools

source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/26/MNE6176LK9.DTL

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covelogibbs
This picturesque community among the redwoods, once dubbed "the Berkeley of the north" for its reputation for unabashed liberalism, has repeatedly thumbed its nose at the federal government.

Over the years, its civic leaders have declared this city a sanctuary for military resisters to the Persian Gulf War and barred local enforcement of the Patriot Act. If they had had enough pull, President George W. Bush would have been impeached at least once.

Now Arcata is at it again, with a law blocking the military from recruiting anybody in town under the age of 18. And this time, the law has the backing not of a few City Council activists, but of thousands of voters who went to the polls in November.

On the same day, voters in Eureka, a historically politically staid city a dozen miles away, surprised everybody by approving an identical measure.
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7 comments // U.S. Military out of Humboldt County Schools

  • marinewifey
    • 0
      marinewifey  

    • This is ridiculous. Recruiters should be allowed to recruit where ever they darn well please and whomever wishes to join reguardless of age.
      Even if you sign on to go to boot camp at 17 with your parents permission you are not allowed to go until you have your high school diploma or equivalent. And you are able to back out of your committment up until the point when you board that bus.

      Not allowing a recruiter to come to schools to present a student with their options would be the same as barring a trade school from showing up on campus for career fairs saying they cannot try to bring students to their welding school until they are legally adults. It's ludacris. The military is a job, plain and simple. And when did it become such a horrible thing to become a service member?

    • 3 years ago
  • jh64487
    • 0
      jh64487  

    • hmm, vermont is my first choice if i decide to stay in the US to live.

      ...but this place now...definitely added to the list

    • 3 years ago
  • kennymotown
  • NJDaryl
  • fun_size
    • 0
      fun_size  

    • Personally i feel that if you are 17 or 18 you should have enough character and independence to make decisions for yourself. If you want to join the military than go for it.

    • 3 years ago
  • covelogibbs
    • 0
      covelogibbs  
    • fun_size:

      Well, at 17 you would still be a minor and need your parents or legal guardians approval.

      To me it seems strange that at 18 you can join the army, but you can't drink a beer until you're 21 (in California anyway).

    • 3 years ago
  • covelogibbs
    • 0
      covelogibbs  
    • Image

    • This is not just a problem in Humboldt County, but nation wide.

      What do you think? Should recruiters be allowed in public schools and target students under 18?

    • 3 years ago
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