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School Board members speak out on Army visit
Two Berkeley School Board members spoke out against a recent visit by an Army recruitment “van” to the Berkeley High Campus at the board’s regular meeting Wednesday night.
The Army’s $3.2 million Armor Adventure Van, an 18-wheeler that features electronic simulators that give students a chance to “fire” an M-16 rifle or sit behind the wheel of the army’s most technologically advanced tank, came to the Berkeley High campus Monday as part of a regional effort to attract new recruits.
Board Directors Joaquin Rivera and John Selawsky said the presence of weapon simulators on a high school campus were totally inappropriate.
“I’m somewhat appalled at the message we’re sending our kids,” Selawsky said. “At the same time we’re saying we don’t condone violence and weapons on campus we’re allowing a van with simulated electronic weapon devices as a play thing for our kids.”
Rivera also took issue with the Army’s policy of discriminating against gays and lesbians. “In this district we have an
anti-discrimination policy that the army does not meet,” he said.
Selawsky said Thursday that he will bring a proposal to the board’s May 2 meeting that, if passed, would prevent weapons simulators of any kind from ever being allowed on Berkeley Unified School District sites.
But board Director Shirley Issel said Friday that she worries the board may go too far in its reaction of the Army’s recruitment visit and “set a poor example for our students about tolerance of diverse points of view.”
While Issel acknowledged the deep concern among many Berkeley residents about the van’s visit to Berkeley High, she said there are also many people who believe deeply in the Army and view it as “the protector and defender of our country and its values.”
“Many of our students will choose to go into the military, and we need to remember that when we try to sort out the legitimate concerns that have been raised,” Issel said.
In other news Wednesday, the board awarded a contract for a major renovation of King Middle School, one of the district’s oldest facilities. The $18 million project includes the modernization and seismic, structural upgrade for the school’s main building, construction of a new amphitheater, and a new fire alarm system throughout the campus.
Board President Terry Doran, absent from the meeting, is helping to chaperone a student trip to Cuba.
