The petition
Petition to the Administration:
We call on the University Administration to join faculty, staff, students and other members of the university in opposition to creating an Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program at UMBC.
_Nondiscrimination_. Whereas ROTC openly discriminates against non-heterosexuals, we ask the administration to reaffirm its commitment to its stated policy of nondiscrimination: "The University of Maryland Baltimore County does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic background, ancestry, sex, disability, age, marital status, sexual orientation, veteran's status, or religion in admission to and participation in educational programs ..." (http://www.umbc.edu/ola/nondiscrimination.html)
_Civil Education_. In the spirit of President Dwight Eisenhower's admonition against military-industrial influence in "the free university," we call on the Administration to reaffirm the principles of civil education fit for a free-thinking, democratic society.
_Learning, Not Militarization_. In order to preserve the University as a seat of critical, independent thought, we call on the Administration to stand with us in principled opposition to ROTC expansion. We call on the Administration to oppose the empty rhetoric of patriotism and all such attempts at intimidating the spirit of free inquiry, dissent, and peaceful discussion.
_Decision Making Process_. The timing of this proposal does not allow for the necessary campus reflection, deliberation and public discussion for an informed decision making process.
For the reasons stated above and/or a variety of other concerns, we the undersigned oppose the creation of a ROTC program at UMBC.
Sincerely,
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