Spring Break
Telemarketing for Uncle Sam
Vanessa Guerrero
Issue date: 5/14/09 Section: Opinion
Uncle Sam can't help but be excited about the Solomon Act. Because of the act, he is able to obtain college students' contact information from their universities. With one simple call, Sam is able to promote how great it is to join the military.
The Solomon Act allows the military to get students' names, phone numbers, addresses, age, class schedule and major from public universities for recruiting purposes.
Military officials from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines never miss an opportunity to be present at a job fair at Sacramento State.
It seems they also do not want to miss out on the opportunity to act like annoying telemarketers.
Lt. Carl Hilts of the Sacramento Army Recruiting Battalion said the colleges where they recruit report their students' directory information and, in conjunction career centers, set up campus visits during job fairs.
Hilts said although he has heard of phone call recruitment, he is not aware that his department practices such a method.
"Public information is made accessible through the Solomon Act, and there is no reason why private businesses and not the military can have access to student's public records," he said.
Master Sgt. Michael Heple at the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps office at Sac State said the ROTC program is not involved in campus recruitment and disagreed with phone calls being a method for recruiting students on campus.
"If students do not ask to be contacted nor have filled out information cards, they should not be receiving phone calls from any branch of the military," he said.
Heple said if students continue to receive harassing calls, they should obtain the recruiter's name and phone number and take the information to the ROTC office so he can locate the individual.
The ROTC office on campus has access only to its cadets' records. It does not give out any information to campus recruiters, nor is it involved in giving out directory information.
Sac State's database separates students' public and private records.
Emiliano Diaz, director of Admissions and Outreach, said his office handles students' private records and is very strict as to who gets ahold of those records on campus.
"We do not give private records to military recruiters," Diaz said.
Diaz said professors, advisers and counselors are the only individuals that have access to students' private records.
The students directory, however, is categorized as "public records" by Sac State, and anyone can have access to such information. But students have an option to confidentiality by restricting the release of directory information to anyone.
Those interested in avoiding calls from military recruiters can fill out a request to prevent disclosure of directory information form.
The form states that by signing the document, the institution will not be held responsible if a student is not able to get contacted by other schools, scholarship programs, insurance companies and any other entities requesting information.
Why go through this process to remain confidential?
In 1995, Congress passed the first portion of the Solomon Amendment, which denies government funds to institutions that do not provide students' directory information and prohibit military recruiters on campus.
The funds denied are from the departments of Defense, Education, Labor and Health and Human Services.
The U.S. government always finds a way to get through the smallest cracks in our society, usually with the threat of withholding important funds.
However, as college students, we have the power to say no. Don't give Uncle Sam the ability to access your personal information for recruiting purposes.
Our right to privacy and confidentiality is more important than the military's ability to recruit.
Those students interested in serving and who are serving in the military, I salute you. There are those, however, who detest wars and anything associated with the military and simply prefer to say no to Uncle Sam. The military should not be given the opportunity to harass these people like common telemarketers.
Vanessa Guerrero can be reached at vguerrero@statehornet.com
The Solomon Act allows the military to get students' names, phone numbers, addresses, age, class schedule and major from public universities for recruiting purposes.
Military officials from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines never miss an opportunity to be present at a job fair at Sacramento State.
It seems they also do not want to miss out on the opportunity to act like annoying telemarketers.
Lt. Carl Hilts of the Sacramento Army Recruiting Battalion said the colleges where they recruit report their students' directory information and, in conjunction career centers, set up campus visits during job fairs.
Hilts said although he has heard of phone call recruitment, he is not aware that his department practices such a method.
"Public information is made accessible through the Solomon Act, and there is no reason why private businesses and not the military can have access to student's public records," he said.
Master Sgt. Michael Heple at the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps office at Sac State said the ROTC program is not involved in campus recruitment and disagreed with phone calls being a method for recruiting students on campus.
"If students do not ask to be contacted nor have filled out information cards, they should not be receiving phone calls from any branch of the military," he said.
Heple said if students continue to receive harassing calls, they should obtain the recruiter's name and phone number and take the information to the ROTC office so he can locate the individual.
The ROTC office on campus has access only to its cadets' records. It does not give out any information to campus recruiters, nor is it involved in giving out directory information.
Sac State's database separates students' public and private records.
Emiliano Diaz, director of Admissions and Outreach, said his office handles students' private records and is very strict as to who gets ahold of those records on campus.
"We do not give private records to military recruiters," Diaz said.
Diaz said professors, advisers and counselors are the only individuals that have access to students' private records.
The students directory, however, is categorized as "public records" by Sac State, and anyone can have access to such information. But students have an option to confidentiality by restricting the release of directory information to anyone.
Those interested in avoiding calls from military recruiters can fill out a request to prevent disclosure of directory information form.
The form states that by signing the document, the institution will not be held responsible if a student is not able to get contacted by other schools, scholarship programs, insurance companies and any other entities requesting information.
Why go through this process to remain confidential?
In 1995, Congress passed the first portion of the Solomon Amendment, which denies government funds to institutions that do not provide students' directory information and prohibit military recruiters on campus.
The funds denied are from the departments of Defense, Education, Labor and Health and Human Services.
The U.S. government always finds a way to get through the smallest cracks in our society, usually with the threat of withholding important funds.
However, as college students, we have the power to say no. Don't give Uncle Sam the ability to access your personal information for recruiting purposes.
Our right to privacy and confidentiality is more important than the military's ability to recruit.
Those students interested in serving and who are serving in the military, I salute you. There are those, however, who detest wars and anything associated with the military and simply prefer to say no to Uncle Sam. The military should not be given the opportunity to harass these people like common telemarketers.
Vanessa Guerrero can be reached at vguerrero@statehornet.com
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