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The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

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Students head for military

His pen dropped to the desk, and he released a sigh of relief. That was the signature that would change Detrich Clay’s future forever. A Junior at Palo Alto High School, Clay plans on joining the U.S. Marines after high school. "My whole family has gone to the military, specifically the Marines," Clay said. "The marines is the right place for me."

Many people might wonder why he would choose to do this, as the drums of war scare our nation. However Clay is just one of many students who will graduate from high school and head off to boot camp.

Roughly over 94 percent of the 100,000-army recruits this fall will be coming straight out of high school, according to Segeant Reyna, a Bay Area recruiter for the Army. "After high school many students do not know where to go with there lives," Santa Clara Army recruiter Jon Mineo says. "Some students are not ready to go to college. Through the military they find self-control, motivation and a focus in life."

According to Mineo, most of the students targeted by the recruiters are low-income youth of color, regardless of citizenship. "The military is a good choice because scholarships are available, and the cost of college after the military is aided," Mineo says. This year the military will hire over 20,000 recruiters spending over $251 million dollars solely on recruitment.

Speculation has risen to whether the recruiters do their job efficiently. Reyna says, "We simply go into the high schools and tell the students what is available to them. We have videos and pamphlets, from there it is the students choice to pursue a future in the military." Reyna and Mineo are granted the right like an administrator to roam freely on the campus. They also have access to student names, addresses, and phone numbers due to a new federal education law requiring high schools to display the information. Schools that refuse to comply face losing federal education funding under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Family tradition is jut one reason for why thousands of high school graduates flock to the military annually. The pressure of father’s and grandfathers who have joined the military is prevalent and is a constant reminder to what must be done after high school. "I have always know n that I wanted to go to the military because my whole family has, it is tradition," Clay said. "Upholding the tradition is important to me"

Clay’s decision was simple and clear, but what about the students who are disrupting their families by being the first to enroll? These students might have been lured because of the videos of soldiers jumping out of planes, traveling the world, and playing with guns. The military loosely distributes bumper stickers, pencils, posters, and registration forms, splashing its name and patriotic nature around students.

"The military is something to do after high school. With the war and everything, I feel like I will be doing something meaningful." Senior recruit Siaosi Lutui said. Lutui believes the military will be a fun way of doing something that will serve him purpose later in his life. "My cousin was the first one to talk about the option of going to the military, and now it looks like it is my best option."

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