Georgia: Peace Action Team, new faith-based counter-recruitment group

Christina Repoley of AFSC20/08/2007 / anscr / Americus Times-Recorder -  A newly formed group, Peace Action Team (PAT) holds a forum from 7-9 p.m. Aug. 6 at Lake Blackshear Regional Library to discuss military recruitment in the area high schools. The event is free and open to the public; high school students and parents are encouraged to attend.

PAT is a group of concerned Christians who have come together in Americus to explore and implement ways of equality, peace and justice for all.

The forum will be facilitated by Christina Repoley, peace education coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). The local PAT is collaborating with AFSC to develop ways to inform high school students and parents about the degree of access military recruiters have in the public schools and the methods often employed to entice students to enlist. The forum will also help equip those interested in working with the public schools and young people to counter military recruitment and find viable alternatives to military service.

A 20-minute video — “Before You Enlist!” — will be screened at the forum that documents the risks and misconceptions of military life, explores conscientious objection, selective service registration and U.S. militarism around the world.

“Public schools are frequent targets of military advertising, military youth programs and visits by military recruiters,” said Sanders Thornburgh, PAT coordinator. “Even though military recruiters do have the right to be on our campuses, they do not have the right to abuse that privilege. However, parents do have the right to keep recruiters away from their children.

“We hope that high school parents and students will come to the Aug. 6 forum,” Thornburgh said. “It’s important for all of us to have as much information as we can about the military and how it relates to our youth in this community. This workshop will be an excellent starting point by which to do that,” said Thornburgh.

Dennis McMahon, superintendent of the Sumter County Schools, stated in a brief phone interview with the Times-Recorder, that neither the school system nor any members of the Board of Education had received complaints in reference to the military recruiters’ presence in the schools.

“We (the school system) have a good relationship with not just military recruiters but also college recruiters. Both of these entities help promote character development in our students and help them with their career goals,” he said.

According to McMahon, the school system has no intention in ending its relationship with either entity.

Source: https://counterrecruiter.wordpress.com/2007/08/20/georgia-peace-action-team-new-faith-based-counter-recruitment-group/#more-414

 

###

Subscribe to NNOMY Newsletter

NNOMYnews reports on the growing intrusions by the Department of Defense into our public schools in a campaign to normalize perpetual wars with our youth and to promote the recruitment efforts of the Pentagon.

CLICK HERE

Search Articles

Language

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of issues connected with militarism and resistance. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Donate to NNOMY

Your donation to NNOMY works to balance the military's message in our public schools. Our national network of activists go into schools and inform youth considering military service the risks about military service that recruiters leave out.

CONTRIBUTE