Listen Here
By Luke Rodgers
rodgersl1@findlay.edu
A pervasive topic in the headlines over the past few months, rumors and headlines regarding potential military action in Venezuela and potential military action in Greenland and Iran have left some University of Findlay students asking a question most Americans haven’t seriously considered: Could the draft return, and what would that mean for college students?
Many students already know that the U.S. Selective Service System still requires most men to register when they turn 18. Although the U.S. military has consisted of an all-volunteer force since 1973, the registration database remains in place so Congress and the president could authorize a draft in an emergency scenario.
For students, the issue is a personal one. Any draft activation would almost certainly interrupt degrees, athletic eligibility and career plans — a prospect never seen before as college enrollment no longer automatically exempts students as it did during the Vietnam era. Dr. Robert Postic, Ph.D., a professor of political science at Findlay, said a draft is unlikely under a single, limited conflict. Rather, it would require a far larger crisis than what most students imagine.
“A regional conflict by itself would not be enough to trigger the draft,” Postic said. “It would take either a world-war-scale conflict or multiple regional hostilities happening at the same time that stretch the limits of the U.S. military.”
Military action in Greenland would require action against a NATO ally. But Postic emphasized that a potential conflict involving former NATO allies would face intense resistance from the American public.
“Six months ago, this question would have seemed almost ludicrous,” Postic said. “Even now, I think public outrage would likely force policymakers to pump the brakes before anything escalated that far.”
Despite this, the Selective Service question still poses a valid concern: how a modern draft would work, and whether students could remain in school. Bygone are the deferments of the Vietnam era. A modern draft, if authorized, would likely rely on a lottery based on birth dates and age groups, according to Postic.
“If national security were clearly at stake, Congress could move very quickly,” Postic said. “Authorization could happen within days, but actually bringing people into the military would take place over several months.”
Even so, Postic is confident that support for reinstating the draft is actually quite low, around the 20 percent range.
“Americans are far more supportive of the idea of national service when it includes non-military options,” Postic said.
On campus, male student athletes are a group that would be particularly affected, yet say the topic is not dominating conversations, although uncertainty is troubling. Alex Diaz, a men’s soccer representative to Findlay’s SAAC, said many students know Selective Service exists.
“But their understanding of how the draft actually works is pretty surface-level,” Diaz said. Though he thinks it’s not a common fear, it would definitely make students more anxious about what their future holds.
The draft discussion naturally raises questions about gender. One UF female student believes women’s historical exclusion from Selective Service isn’t discrimination, rather wartime contribution extends beyond combat.
“That doesn’t mean women don’t contribute during wartime — they work, provide, and support the country in important ways,” she said. She also believes women should not be required to register in the future and that it should be a personal choice.
