On Wednesday, February 24, from 2 - 4:30 p.m., the Lake Merritt United Methodist Church (1330 Lakeshore Avenue in Oakland) will be hosting the Positive Opportunities for Youth Resource Fair & Youth Manifesto Rally. This free event, supported by Youth Uprising's Youth Grants for Youth Action, features job, college and internship opportunities, youth performances, speakers, food, raffles, and more.

First of all, more events should include manifestos. More importantly, however, perhaps the most striking description of this event comes from BAY-Peace: Better Alternatives for Youth itself: "...Oakland youth deserve better alternatives! We believe schools' main priorities should to be to educate students and provide safe learning environments. Schools should not be vehicles for military recruiters to gain students' private information for recruiting purposes. At the end of the event, we will deliver our Youth Manifesto petition to the Oakland School Board."

What really jumps out at the reader here is an issue that is of great concern to us all: "Schools should not be vehicles for military recruiters to gain students' private information for recruiting purposes." Right! In fact, it's alarming that this needs to be stated explicitly.

As higher education costs skyrocket, access to higher education becomes more and more the realm of the wealthy, as it was a few generations ago, before the G.I. Bill. Students without wealthy parents--that is, most students, and more all the time--have fewer and fewer options for financing degrees. The armed services offer some educational funding, but with America's two wars and multiple peacekeeping missions around the world, it's not necessarily the safest option. Nobody should have to risk his or her life just for the chance at a decent education. Of course Oakland youth deserve better.

Worse, since the Vietnam War, the U.S. has had a terrible record of classism in military recruitment. At that time, the children of wealthy parents not only went to school, but if they chose to try to get out of the draft, they also had a lot more options for doing that. Working-class and poor kids didn't have many options. They were drafted and they lost their lives in that conflict in disproportionate numbers.

That was inexcusable then, and it is inexcusable now. While young people who wish for their own reasons to serve their country should certainly be encouraged to do so and deserve our respect and support, kids who don't have enough options for education should not be driven into military service because they don't see any other way to get to college than through the harsh terrain of Afghanistan--and they should certainly not be pressured by recruiters to look away from other possible options as if they were not available. Here are some of those other options, at this very event. Oakland youth deserve better, and they should have it.

The Youth Manifesto is endorsed by: All City Council, AYPAL, Californians for Justice, Youth Together, American Friends Service Committee, United for Peace and Justice, Veterans for Peace, Courage to Resist, Fellowship of Reconciliation, and this writer, among other organizations and individuals.

About Meg Spohn

Meg has been a writing, editorial, and research mercenary for over two decades. (Have laptop, will travel.) She holds a Ph.D. in international relations, and when not absorbed with Oakland’s stories and events, mostly teaches online graduate-level global affairs and writing courses. She has been obsessed with justice and strategy for as long as she can remember. Her personal blog is at megspohn.com.