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Peace Organization Not Allowed On Campuses

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By TIFFANY LANKES, Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: November 19, 2007

Members of the Coalition of Concerned Patriots have a message they want to deliver to high school students.

It is a message for peace, one they say is necessary to balance the military recruiting that is prevalent on school campuses.

Coalition members are asking that the Sarasota County and Manatee County school districts allow their group on school grounds.

"It would be wonderful to go sit on the other side of the cafeteria table just like I imagine the military recruiters do," said Don Thompson, co-chairman of the coalition.

The local coalition's effort matches a national push by peace groups to counter the military recruiting that has become more controversial since the federal No Child Left Behind Act passed in 2001. The law gives military recruiters unprecedented access to students, requiring schools to turn over their contact information and allowing recruiters the same campus access provided colleges and other employers.

Across the country, peace groups have responded by asking for an equal chance to promote their message.

The issue is forcing schools to weigh the merits of allowing these groups access against their concerns for protecting students.

Administrators say they fear allowing access for peace groups could open the floodgates for scores of other groups that want to spread political messages.

School officials also point out that - unlike military recruiters, employers or colleges - peace groups are typically not recruiting students for opportunities after they graduate.

"These folks are not offering another career opportunity," said Gary Leatherman, spokesman for the Sarasota County School District. "They're offering a viewpoint."

The groups point to a 1989 court ruling that established that schools must give the same access to peace groups promoting career alternatives that they give recruiters, including those from the military, businesses and colleges.

The ruling prompted the Pinellas County School District in August to become one of the first school districts in the state to adopt a policy allowing members of peace groups on campus if they provide students with some sort of career information.

"You have to have something to offer our students besides a message," said David Koperski, an attorney with the Pinellas school district.

In some counties, the peace movement has moved beyond recruiting.

For several years, an issue in Manatee was the district's distribution of the opt-out forms schools are required to provide parents if they do not want their child's contact information turned over to military recruiters.

The local coalition wanted the district to make the forms readily available in the student handbook. In August, the board obliged.

Even then, the Sarasota and Manatee school districts are maintaining their refusal to allow the groups on campus.

The coalition, in turn, has found other ways to promote its message.

Last year it started attending public school events in Manatee County, including athletic games and graduations.

In the past few weeks, members have turned their attention to Sarasota, standing outside Booker High School before school starts and providing information to students.

Thompson says the group plans to target more campuses in Sarasota and Manatee counties. "We will continue doing this until we get into the schools," Thompson said.

Booker junior Desiree Gadson said she could see the value of allowing the group access to students.

But she also thought there could be an alternative to letting the groups on campus, such as having a public meeting or career fair.

"In any situation, both sides should be represented," said Desiree, 16.

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