A look at the advantages and potential disadvantages in the ROTC program at colleges around the nation and here at Berry.
Faith Mantia, News Producer and Aaron Morrison, Videographer
The R.O.T.C. Program, or Reserve Officer Training Corp, was instituted by Woodrow Wilson with the National Defense Act of 1916. This program was started in order to better train military Officers while they gain an education.
Berry College at one point had an R.O.T.C. program but it has long since been dismantled. The program was introduced to Berry in 1981, but fell apart due to its overall population which was 1,400 students and the male to female ratio at the time.
The Pro’s and Con’s of an R.O.T.C. program is something that isn’t made very clear when looking at schools that currently offer the program. According to Joe Carter, a current serviceman in the U.S. Army explained that participation in the R.O.T.C. program is a “valuable experience that can be used in any atmosphere”. Carter works with Aircraft armament Systems, which according to him involves “hard-work, teamwork, and communication”. These are all skills that Carter says that R.O.T.C. program provides. “Patriotism and Nationalism is also another great Pro from the R.O.T.C. program” says Carter because “It provides an Independent sense of protecting, serving, and preserving their country”.
Dr. Lawler, Government professor at Berry College stated that the main Con people face when deciding to join the R.O.T.C. program is the amount of time it takes up. “The program is a college program, which is difficult because the program calls for most of your time in the day”. According to Lawler, that is the only con in the program, and that “once you get beyond the time commitment, it is a valuable experience that sets you up not only for a military career, but any career, civilian or military”.
Lt. Colonel Sharon Franklin, J.R.O.T.C. Instructor at Alexander High School in Douglasville Georgia claims that Pro’s involved with the R.O.T.C. program include multiple life-skills. “The program provides leadership development, communication skills, team building exercises, and many more”.
With Berry College’s admission numbers rapidly growing over the past several years and the new influx of male students a revitalization of the R.O.T.C. program could potentially be in Berry’s future.