"I hear there's rumors on the Internet that we're going to have a draft. We're not going to have a draft, period," President Bush said during the second presidential debate in response to a question about how he intends to maintain a military presence in Iraq without instating a draft. "Forget all this talk about a draft. We're not going to have a draft so long as I'm the president."Even so, two bills, one in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate, were proposed last winter to do just that: reinstate a draft, though not solely for military service. The bill for the House was voted and rejected with a nearly unanimous vote earlier this month, while the Senate bill still exists. The two congressmen who voted in favor of the bill were Democrats, though its sponsor, Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., voted with the majority.

The proposed draft would be different from the draft that lasted from World War II through the Vietnam War. It would involve two years of service, either in the military or civilian service directed toward homeland security. Unlike past drafts, there would be no exemptions from service. College students would be allowed to finish their semesters but would then report to basic training. Also, Canada, once a popular destination for people seeking to evade the draft, would no longer allow in Americans looking to dodge military service.

The largest contrast between the old draft and the proposed draft is that women would be included too.

"In principle, it's the right way for a democracy to fight wars, however, as it would require a broad social consensus on war aims to sustain a draft," Prof. Daniel Kryder (POL) said about a draft.

During the second presidential debate, Democratic candidate John Kerry also said he does not support a draft, but that he fears the Army is stretched too thin.

"Our [National] Guard and reserves have been turned into almost active duty," Kerry said. "You've got people doing two and three rotations. You've got stop-loss policies, so people can't get out when they were supposed to. You've got a backdoor draft right now."

Earlier this month, The New York Times reported statistics that support Kerry's claim, writing: "More than one-third of nearly 3,900 former soldiers mobilized under a special wartime program have resisted their call-ups. The Army National Guard fell nearly 10 percent short of its 2004 recruiting goal of 56,000 enlistees."

There have also been calls in Congress to enlarge the army by more than 20,000 soldiers, which, if written into law, could increase the likelihood of a draft.

Adam Schwartzbaum '07, vice president of the Brandeis Democrats, was told in an e-mail from Prof. Gordon Fellman (SOC) that the Selective Service Committee, which organizes military drafts, just received $28 million from the Bush administration to prepare for a possible draft that could begin as early as June 2005.

"As John Kerry said the other day, nine out of 10 of our active divisions of the U.S. Army are either in Iraq, leaving Iraq or preparing to go to Iraq. It's a scary issue," Schwartzbaum said. "The draft is probably not going to happen right now. I don't think it's something that Brandeis students should worry about right now."

"I read about the draft in a Washington Post article last winter, which is how I learned about it," said Raena Davis '07, who canvassed for the League of Conservation Voters in Florida last summer. "What really worries me is how the government controls the media and how I didn't read anything about it in between then and now."

"It's like Senator Kerry said during one of his speeches, 'Who wants to be the last person to die?' " Davis said.

"The [Bush] administration has said multiple times ...that they will not start a draft," said Robert Schwartz '08, head of fundraising for Brandeis Republicans. "The rumors are just that-rumors."

Prof. Stephen Whitfield (AMST) said he does not feel a draft is likely with the current efforts in Iraq. "In general, the draft is politically unpopular, especially when the war is unpopular."

MTV and Rock the Vote, which have been very active in registering new voters, post many articles on their Web sites concerning the draft bills in Congress. Rock the Vote spokesman Jay Strell has been quoted saying that downloads of voter registration forms off of the group's Web site have risen to about 40,000 a day, a lot of it due to young people reading about a possible draft.

According to the Associated Press, representatives from MTV's Rock the Vote are discussing the draft issue because the presidential candidates haven't addressed it. "This is not an Internet rumor," Strell said. "Young people in America deserve an honest and open debate about the possibility of a draft. Neither side has offered up what they're going to do to meet the current and future military needs."

Fellman said he was startled at first when he learned a Democrat proposed the draft bill, but he said this made sense. "They want to make a point. The Army is made up of mostly lower income, non-whites, like it was during Vietnam." Fellman said.

Fellman was a part of antiwar and anti-draft protests during Vietnam. He does not think a draft would be preferable for the war in Iraq.

Schwartz said he also opposes the draft, but that if there one were instituted, he would serve if called.

Emilie Hardman (GRAD), a Ph.D. candidate in sociology, thinks there is a different reason for the draft in general.

"The logic behind it is that all people need to serve their country and that the way this service is given is through participation in an institution that uses violence to serve the interests of the American government, which is not even always representative of the American people's interest and certainly tends not to be in the interests of those who live in the countries the American military bombs," Hardman said.

"I question the idea that it is valid to serve to your country by blowing up another country."



A mandatory draft: not just speculation in some countries

Some countries, such as Israel and Russia, require students just out of high school to complete a term of service for their country. Brandeis students agreed that theoretically, mandatory service can be valuable, but were unsure if the United States needs this practice.

"[Israel], unlike us, need the military all the time," Schwartz said. "It makes sense for them to have a constant draft."

"I think some sort of national service would be beneficial." Schwartzbaum said. "On a personal note, when I was in Israel last year, some people asked me how my service in the army had been. I said American students do not have to serve ... and they were shocked.