In the last remaining days of fall, when the quality of light can suspend a memory like amber, Charlie Morales, 19, tosses a football to friends during a break at Skyline. He’s gregarious, loping around benches and cement planters.
Bush won the 2004 election, but questions remain about the war in Iraq and the draft. Though both President Bush and Sen. John Kerry were adamantly against a draft, an online initiative, Rock the Vote, claims neither adequately addressed the possibility of a prolonged war in Iraq and instability in North Korea, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.
While politicians toiled for their political lives at the national level in the days leading to the election, young men and women at Skyline College, in quiet pursuit of a future, seemed resigned and hopeful of better times. Arguably, this is not a good time to be young.
“You can’t get around it,” Morales said about a possible draft. “All you can do is serve; do the job. Can you fight it?”
President Bush had said in a Rock theVote online forum on Oct. 13 that there are enough troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sen. John Kerry said he would augment the ranks by getting other countries to shoulder their portion of the war.
Morales would have volunteered in the Marines after high school but other things came up. Two of his friends, both 19, enlisted and are in training in Texas. They are scheduled to go to Iraq in a few weeks.
“They’re being trained to kill, go in the gas chamber and get used to conditions they’re going to be in. If they don’t get good training… if they’re not prepared properly, then they’re just sending a bunch of kids with guns,” Morales said.
Sitting apart in the quad, a nursing student unwinds in the autumn sun. He’s a man-child slouching in saggy clothes that appear too large for him. His cap angles off his boyish face. Paul Fernandez just turned 18 and has lived in the United States for approximately 18 months.
Fernandez said he is not registered and appeared confused by the concept. He is self-conscious about his speech and his words about the draft are forced, yet jarring.
“I don’t like it. I thought we had a big army… lots of reserves,” Fernandez said. “What’s the point of getting people who don’t want it? Iraq: It’s about oil. In 10 to 20 years, it’s going to be gone.”
For now he tries to hide in anonymity for failing to register. Unlike many states, California has not enacted drivers license laws tied to Selective Service System (SSS) registration. If he does not register before his 26th birthday, he could be ineligible for student loans and grants from colleges, government jobs and training or more severely; the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services may deny him American citizenship.
If Congress enacts the draft, it’s unlikely that 18- and 19-year-olds will be inducted. And 26-year-olds are considered too old for the draft. Contrary to popular belief, there are no exemptions for only sons, first-born sons, fathers and college students.
As a nursing student, Fernandez may have another out. Conscientious objectors will serve in civilian jobs related to national health or safety such as caring for the very young or the very old, conservation and health care.
PeaceAction of San Mateo County, an activist group which was on campus on Oct. 28, recommends registered men to contact their clergy and apply for conscientious objector status before Jan. 1, 2005.
Although there has been talk in Congress, the Supreme Court upheld the military policy of not registering women. With 16 percent of the armed forces made up of women, the military is hard-pressed to defend its policy and have stated that without females in the ranks the military will not succeed. For certain members of Congress, registering women stems from equality and access issues.
But Tara Ross, 18, is skeptical. She said she doesn’t trust the military policy of no women in close combat if she were drafted.
“It’s scary what war does to you,” Ross said. “We shouldn’t be at war. We shouldn’t get to that point. If I were drafted, I would go to jail or leave the country. War’s not good for anybody.”
Paul Victoria, 23, said “yes” and “no” to women being drafted. “Yes” because of women’s equal rights, and “no” because women should have a choice. Victoria believes he can be trained to kill people, but it would be different in actual combat.
“People react to situations differently. There’s a lot of pressure in defending yourself. I don’t think I can handle the mental state of ‘kill or be killed’,” Victoria said. “I’m just waiting to turn 25.”
While national attention has been focused on Iraq and Afghanistan, Asian countries like Japan, China, South Korea and the Philippines keep a wary eye on North Korea and its nuclear weapons program. Meanwhile, instability in Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia may require a U.S. military presence that is currently thin and over-committed.
Skyline student James Douglas, 23, offered five words to world leaders:
“Find bin Laden: no war.”
The SSS has been in standby mode since 1973 when the draft expired during the Vietnam era. President Jimmy Carter revamped the system in 1979 and re-established registration in 1980 after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.
There are currently 13.5 million men between the ages of 20 and 25 who are registered and eligible for the draft.
