Diversity..except not for Marines...

[Sgt Leprechaun]

DIVERSITY DOUBLE-TALKIVY'S 'INCLUSION' EXCLUDES MILITARY By MATT SANCHEZ December 4, 2006 -- DiD you hear the one about the Marines that Columbia University invited to campus for Fleet Week? Not any time in the last few decades, you didn't. But you might have heard the one about the Marine who was told by a fellow Columbia student that he was stupid for joining the military because he's Hispanic and didn't realize he was being used for cannon fodder. It's actually kind of funny - but when it happened to me during Columbia's Activities Day last year, I was fighting mad. Not because I was publicly humiliated in front of several hundred of my fellow classmates (any devil dog who has spent a summer on Parris Island gets used to insults), but because of what the incident showed about New York's most prestigious university. On the surface, Columbia is all for diversity (good, very good) and completely opposed to intolerance (bad, really bad). On any given day, eager undergrads can speak out for Starbucks employees forced to make coffee with non-ergonomic espresso machines, or call for the school to install non-gender-specific bathrooms. The administration? Well, I've heard Mary McGee, the dean of students, speak with great consternation about the need to be sure that no student populations were marginalized or excluded. To illustrate the point, she pondered changing all the doorknobs on campus to accommodate those with physical limitations who might literally be "shut out." She said that, to date, no student had complained about the smooth metallic doorknobs, "but they should not have to" I figured that a dean so concerned about student inclusion would certainly look into a simple case of student harassment. You see, I had a problem: fellow student Monique Dols. Back on Activities Day, Dols didn't just lecture me on my stupidity in serving our nation; she also yelled that I was a baby killer. For a Marine, being called a killer is almost flattering - but for months Dols and her friends had been disrupting pretty much every event I attended. Most famously, her crowd rushed the stage at another group's event, preventing the guest (from the border-enforcement advocates, the Minutemen) from delivering his remarks, and nearly causing a riot. That day, Dols claimed to be protesting for the recognition of the humanity of illegal Hispanic immigrants. Yet somehow her concern doesn't apply to a citizen Hispanics proud to serve this country and eager to go to college. And the Columbia administration seems to agree. Despite bringing national embarrassment to the university with her actions, she's gone completely unpunished. The university has chalked it up to free speech. All points of view are welcome at Columbia, from Venezuelan presidents to voices from vaginas. Unless you're in the military. But Columbia's hypocrisy on inclusiveness isn't just a matter of the apparent immunity that Dols & Co. enjoy. The school also has no faculty member who specifically deals with veteran affairs. Sure, Curtis Rodgers, the dean of admissions, says veterans are a great asset for the Columbia community - and a very nice woman at the bursar's office will help veterans process their GI benefits to pay tuition. Yet when a Marine deployed to Iraq was having problems clearing up an error on his tuition bill, no one on staff was prepared to help him break through the school's bureaucracy. Columbia veterans would love to invite Marines and sailors onto the campus during next year's Fleet Week - but we don't want them to experience the Columbia version of a sniper attack. The sad fact that they'd face such an assault is something Columbia University just won't own up to. Matt Sanchez is a corporal in the U.S Marines (Reserve) and a junior at Columbia. Matthew.a.sanchez@gmail.com

[SuNmAN]

THANK GOD that my school is nothing like that.

From what I've seen, military servicemembers, especially Marines are highly respected at the University of Illinois

I've not encountered any incident like that.

[Sgt Leprechaun]

Just give it time....

[SuNmAN]

Just give it time....

We have a LOT of ROTC kids here. Every Thursday ROTC students are required to wear their uniforms to class. Air Force ROTC wears their air force service blues, Navy/Marine ROTC wear their khakis, and Army ROTC wear their cammies.

I've seen protests against the war in Iraq, but NOT ONCE have I've ever heard the dreaded term "baby killer" or protests against our fellow men and women in uniform.

In addition I have met a good handful of enlisted Marines who are at the University of Illinois, tuition and expenses fully paid to earn a bachelor's degree and a commission through the MECEP program.

What was funny was last year I met a female Staff Sergeant and I started hitting on her (not knowing otherwise) until I realized she was not only a Marine but a Staff Sergeant lol...she was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant last summer.

Our school is a lot more pro-military than you would think. Besides, "liberal" does not mean "anti military"

I think Illinois in general is a pretty Pro military state, thanks to the efforts of Congressman Rahm Emmanuel (D-IL)

[Sgt Leprechaun]

I'd agree right up until I hear "liberal does not mean anti military". That's where the train falls off the track LOL. Because, in my experience, that's exactly what it means....

But, I'm glad your school is pro military...be thankful, believe me..most aren't.

[SuNmAN]

I'd agree right up until I hear "liberal does not mean anti military". That's where the train falls off the track LOL. Because, in my experience, that's exactly what it means....

But, I'm glad your school is pro military...be thankful, believe me..most aren't.

Depends how far left you are. If you're an extreme liberal thats a different story. But everybody I've met that identifies themself with the democratic party has the utmost respect for the military but opposes the continuation of the Iraq War.