Wounded Iraq Vet Gets Heckled at Columbia

[웃 910]

Hero's unwelcome

Wounded Iraq vet jeered at Columbia

Columbia University students heckled a war hero during a town-hall meeting on whether ROTC should be allowed back on campus.

"Racist!" some students yelled at Anthony Maschek, a Columbia freshman and former Army staff sergeant awarded the Purple Heart after being shot 11 times in a firefight in northern Iraq in February 2008. Others hissed and booed the veteran.

Maschek, 28, had bravely stepped up to the mike Tuesday at the meeting to issue an impassioned challenge to fellow students on their perceptions of the military.

"It doesn't matter how you feel about the war. It doesn't matter how you feel about fighting," said Maschek. "There are bad men out there plotting to kill you."

CLASH: Veteran Anthony Maschek (above, with fiancée Angela O'Neill) faced heckling from fellow Columbia students over ROTC (below).

Several students laughed and jeered the Idaho native, a 10th Mountain Division infantryman who spent two years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington recovering from grievous wounds.

Maschek, who is studying economics, miraculously survived the insurgent attack in Kirkuk. In the hail of gunfire, he broke both legs and suffered wounds to his abdomen, arm and chest.

He enrolled last August at the Ivy League school, where an increasingly ugly battle is unfolding over the 42-year military ban there.

More than half of the students who spoke at the meeting -- the second of three hearings on the subject -- expressed opposition to ROTC's return. Many of the 200 students in the audience held anti-military placards with slogans such as, "1 in 3 female soldiers experiences sexual assault in the military."

The university has created a task force polling 10,000 students on the issue, but would not release the vote tally of the 1,300 who have already responded.

In 2005, when the university last voted to reject ROTC's return, it cited the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

That policy was overturned in December, but resistance remains.

"Transpeople are part of the Columbia community," said senior Sean Udell at the meeting, referring to the military's current ban on transgender soldiers.

Faculty members are divided.

"Universities should not be involved in military activities," Sociology Professor Emeritus Herbert Gans told The Post. "Columbia should come out against spending $300 billion a year on unnecessary wars."

A group of 34 faculty colleagues, including historian Kenneth Jackson and former Bloomberg adviser Esther Fuchs, plan to announce their support of ROTC tomorrow.

José Robledo, 30, a Columbia student who commutes to Fordham University for ROTC coursework, said he found the treatment of Maschek abhorrent.

"The anti-ROTC side has been disrespectful and loud. They hiss and they jeer," he said. "It's been to the detriment of the argument."

Read more: http://www.nypost.co...N#ixzz1EZAhg9Wz

Edited February 21, 2011 by Lord Infamous

[mawilson 2,133]

What's wrong with preying on low-income communities?

It's not like high-income communities are in a hurry to join the military.

[luckytxn 2,263]

Not surprising at all. We ought to look at the groups that are allowed on campus there. Someone want to put up a list?

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Bring back the draft.

[luckytxn 2,263]

Bring back the draft.

I agree and with no deferments.

[_Simpson_ 250]

What's wrong with preying on low-income communities?

It's not like high-income communities are in a hurry to join the military.

The problem with the sign is the wording. It should read "The military targets people of low-income communities with promises like a free education." A person who joins the military knows that war is a possibility and trying to renege on the deal is just not acceptable. I dont accept the victim mentality that is given to these military people by the usual suspects.

Edited February 21, 2011 by _Simpson_

[luckytxn 2,263]

The problem with the sign is the wording. It should read "The military targets people of low-income communities with promises like a free education." A person who joins the military knows that war is a possibility and trying to renege on the deal is just not acceptable. I dont accept the victim mentality that is given to these military people by the usual suspects.

I agree. No one ever put a gun to their head and forced them to join. If anyone joins the military they know they may have to actually be in combat for real. Throughout history the military has been a way out for some and today is no different. Right now it is the ones that can be students that mostly chooses to not join and feels superior to others to be able to make these calls for justice to the poorer segments. That is fine if they want but I am betting you will see every Socialist idea and group on that campus and they champion that. Why is it wrong that a ROTC group can't be represented for the few that may want it?

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

I think the ROTC provides an opportunity for young people to get an education, something that people on the left should respect.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Liberalism. Proving Hate for America, one day at a time!

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Stupid generalisations. Proving idiocy on vj on a daily basis.

[james&olya 1,121]

I agree and with no deferments.

Draft everyone, rich, poor, male, female, and we will see the end of unnecessary wars! Its a whole lot easier to send someone elses children into stupid battles than your own!

[james&olya 1,121]

I think the ROTC provides an opportunity for young people to get an education, something that people on the left should respect.

Most of us on the left do! Some of us are veterans ourselves. Stupidity knows no party boundary, unfortunately. I respect those ROTC students a lot but have very little respect for the 'chicken-hawks' that avoided combat for themselves but were so eager to get us involved in Iraq!

[Zero Sum 305]

I agree. No one ever put a gun to their head and forced them to join. If anyone joins the military they know they may have to actually be in combat for real. Throughout history the military has been a way out for some and today is no different. Right now it is the ones that can be students that mostly chooses to not join and feels superior to others to be able to make these calls for justice to the poorer segments. That is fine if they want but I am betting you will see every Socialist idea and group on that campus and they champion that. Why is it wrong that a ROTC group can't be represented for the few that may want it?

+1.

One signs on the dotted line; all consequences should be well-understood.

Plus the discipline and life-long benefits go far in one's abilities to apply logic in a disciplined way. At least that was my experience, strengthening more than just body and habit.

I don't have an issue with someone like Elena Kagan barring ROTC from a campus due to military policies of exclusion of gays, but I do believe that as an organization, they should be shut out either and all students should enjoy the freedom to choose if they want to join or not without academic repercussions. All organizations of this sort serve a purpose, and should be examined beyond partisan hackery or bad logic (as much as you used to be called out on in the past if my searches on the topic are complete).