What do Punk Rockers and Soccer Moms Have in Common?
Posted by Kate Mewhiney
Nothing, right? Traditionally, that may have been the case, but now members of both groups share a common concern: military recruiters in the country's public schools. Buried within The No Child Left Behind Act is a provision that requires schools receiving federal funding to allow military recruiters access to student information. Students and parents who want their private information to remain private must fill out a form allowing them to opt out of the process. However, despite a federal law requiring it, many schools do not inform parents or students of this option.
The provision enables military recruiters to target students based on personal information obtained without consent. With this information, recruiters can call potential recruits or show up at their homes unsolicited. Unless specifically stated otherwise in an opt out form, every student at a federally funded public school in the country is vulnerable to these under-handed tactics.
Grassroots organizations are popping up around the country to make sure parents and students know their options. The group Mainstreet Moms Operation Blue (http://www.themmob.org) launched the Leave My Child Alone campaign to educate the public. Placing the issue on the agenda at school board meetings all over the U.S., The MMOB is taking the PTA by storm.
And they're not alone. Pittsburgh-based punk band Anti-Flag is working toward the same goal with Military Free Zone (http://www.militaryfreezone.org), a campaign begun with the help of ADA President Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA). A band that has made a career of being politically active, Anti-Flag is now using its influence to encourage members of the punk rock community to be aware of this deceptive provision of No Child Left Behind and to get involved in changing it.
The first priority of both groups is to get as many parents as possible to sign the Opt Out form that makes their child's information unavailable to recruiters and places them on a Do Not Call List. Military Free Zone's web site has copies of the form available for parents and students to download. The Leave My Child Alone Website (http://www.leavemychildalone.org) encourages visitors to sign on as a citizen co-sponsor of Rep. Mike Honda's (D-CA) Student Privacy Protection Act. This bill would reverse the provision, releasing private information of students to recruiters only if parents specifically request it, instead of the other way around.
These campaigns may be small, but they are quickly gaining momentum as more Americans become aware of the abuses and gross misconduct of military recruiters desperate to reach their goals. The Student Privacy Protection Act currently has 32,274 citizen co-sponsors, and groups like the MMOB and Military Free Zone are utilizing the Internet and grassroots organizing to spread their message across the country. At first glance they may look like polar opposites, but sometimes angry punk rockers and outraged mothers have a lot more in common than you might think.
Nothing, right? Traditionally, that may have been the case, but now members of both groups share a common concern: military recruiters in the country's public schools. Buried within The No Child Left Behind Act is a provision that requires schools receiving federal funding to allow military recruiters access to student information. Students and parents who want their private information to remain private must fill out a form allowing them to opt out of the process. However, despite a federal law requiring it, many schools do not inform parents or students of this option.
The provision enables military recruiters to target students based on personal information obtained without consent. With this information, recruiters can call potential recruits or show up at their homes unsolicited. Unless specifically stated otherwise in an opt out form, every student at a federally funded public school in the country is vulnerable to these under-handed tactics.
Grassroots organizations are popping up around the country to make sure parents and students know their options. The group Mainstreet Moms Operation Blue (http://www.themmob.org) launched the Leave My Child Alone campaign to educate the public. Placing the issue on the agenda at school board meetings all over the U.S., The MMOB is taking the PTA by storm.
And they're not alone. Pittsburgh-based punk band Anti-Flag is working toward the same goal with Military Free Zone (http://www.militaryfreezone.org), a campaign begun with the help of ADA President Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA). A band that has made a career of being politically active, Anti-Flag is now using its influence to encourage members of the punk rock community to be aware of this deceptive provision of No Child Left Behind and to get involved in changing it.
The first priority of both groups is to get as many parents as possible to sign the Opt Out form that makes their child's information unavailable to recruiters and places them on a Do Not Call List. Military Free Zone's web site has copies of the form available for parents and students to download. The Leave My Child Alone Website (http://www.leavemychildalone.org) encourages visitors to sign on as a citizen co-sponsor of Rep. Mike Honda's (D-CA) Student Privacy Protection Act. This bill would reverse the provision, releasing private information of students to recruiters only if parents specifically request it, instead of the other way around.
These campaigns may be small, but they are quickly gaining momentum as more Americans become aware of the abuses and gross misconduct of military recruiters desperate to reach their goals. The Student Privacy Protection Act currently has 32,274 citizen co-sponsors, and groups like the MMOB and Military Free Zone are utilizing the Internet and grassroots organizing to spread their message across the country. At first glance they may look like polar opposites, but sometimes angry punk rockers and outraged mothers have a lot more in common than you might think.
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