Students or Soldiers? Coalition

The SOS? Coalition is a group of students, educators, parents, civil rights advocates and community activists working together to defend students from aggressive military recruitment practices in NYC public schools, and to ensure that all students are aware of the full range of post-high school opportunities and alternatives to military enlistment.

The DOE has no meaningful mechanism to ensure proper enforcement of its regulations at any of NYC’s 400+ high schools. Innovative recruiter policies like those enacted in Los Angeles, Seattle and other large, urban school districts protect students’ rights and minimize recruiter abuse

The Coalition’s current work adopts a multifaceted approach to policy advocacy, community education, organizing and coalition-building to:

• Pressure the DOE to enforce its current limits on military recruitment activity on campus and to issue a comprehensive Chancellor’s Regulations to address outstanding military recruitment problems;
• Build the Support Our Students: Military Recruiter Monitoring Project, comprised of School Observers: students, teachers, staff and school community members who monitor school compliance with military recruitment policies, report violations to appropriate entities and speak with students and teachers to find out what recruiters are doing inside schools.
• Continue to forge an alliance of youth, educators, parents, civil rights advocates, religious leaders, community leaders to be the front line defense for New York City youth confronting aggressive military recruitment in their schools.

We are looking to build our strength and grow the Students or Soldiers? Coalition

The current steering committee consists of:
New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) • Ya-Ya Network • New York Collective of Radical Educators (NYCoRE) • UFTers to Stop the War • NYC United for Peace and Justice (NYC UFPJ)

To find out how to get involved or to receive more information, please contact: Erica Braudy at ebraudy@nyclu.org, or 212.607.3361.