The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate on Sunday passed a non−binding resolution regarding the university's policies on the military's Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC). The resolution, which passed 21−0 with three abstaining, includes two proposals concerning recognition for participation in ROTC. The first proposal calls for notation of ROTC participation on students' transcripts upon their completion of the program. The second proposes recognizing ROTC participation on final transcripts for every semester a student takes ROTC courses. We at the Daily urge the faculty to support both of these measures when it votes on them in the coming weeks.
Both proposals would serve to respect the commitment to service that ROTC members display and recognize that they completed their coursework at Tufts while spending a considerable amount of time off campus fulfilling ROTC duties. Tufts does not have its own ROTC facilities due to fiscal and logistical considerations on the part of the military. Because of this, cadets must commute to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in order to complete many of the required trainings and coursework. Recognizing this commitment on a student's transcript is not only reasonable but should have started long ago.
Nonetheless, academic credit for ROTC courses is an issue left untouched by both proposals. At present, the university does not give academic credit for participation in ROTC. The program is highly time−consuming and taxing both mentally and physically. Cadets deserve credit for it, credit that surpasses simply recognition on their transcripts.
Since the recent repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" legislation, many colleges and universities that had previously banned ROTC from their campuses are taking steps toward reinstating it. Harvard and Columbia Universities are among this group, and though Tufts need not reconsider this, it should follow in kind by giving academic credit for ROTC courses. This move would go further than the current proposals do, and it would be the right thing to do. A Tufts student's workload is demanding as is. It only makes sense for the university to make special considerations for students going above and beyond.
As the TCU Senate resolution states, Tufts would be doing a disservice to cadets by not fully recognizing their efforts. Though passing both proposals would be a step in the right direction, the university should give full academic credit to cadets who devote so much time to so admirable a cause.
