University of Virginia Library

Loophole May Exist In Lottery System

By Peter Shen
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

After a careful scrutiny of the revised
draft system, many people think they
have discovered a loophole through which
a number of fortunate potential draftees
could avoid induction.

The loophole, if valid, would work
mainly to the advantage of students who
are in the 19-26 age range and who are eligible
for the draft in this year's lottery, but it may be
blocked by action taken by the draft board.

With the new system, a person whose
birthday was chosen in the top 150 last night is
virtually certain of being drafted while someone
in the last 130 can be fairly sure that he will
not get drafted.

However, those who fall in the 150-230
range are still in the uncertain category. It is
those people who could benefit from the
loophole.

As it presently stands, a student can request
a 2-S deferment. If he does so, he will keep his
number and join those who have the same
number when his deferment expires.

The year in which he is classified 1-A would
not matter to a person in the two extreme
categories but does to one in the middle,
uncertain range. For example, a person, Sam,
who is in the 195 category could improve his
chances for remaining a civilian with the help of
the reported loophole.

Obviously, Sam would want to be eligible
during a draft year when there were a large
number of potential draftees. All draft-eligible
men between the ages of 19 and 26 are
included in the 1970 lottery; in the next years,
only the new 19-year olds and those whose
deferments have expired will be included. Thus,
the largest pool of draftees will be for 1970.

The problem for the student like Sam is to
get placed with the 1-A category for the 1970
lottery so he can get his year over with while
being in the largest possible pool.

At the start of the academic year, Sam was
supposed to request a 2-S deferment. If he did
so, his aim would be to lose that classification.
This he could accomplish by dropping out of
school or possibly by writing his board and
requesting a reclassification.

According to the State Director of Virginia's
draft boards, the boards would be very hesitant
to reclassify a person who qualified as a
full-time student. The director, Navy Captain
Charles Kessler, first stated that he would
advise the boards to grant the person a 2-S
classification regardless of that person's request.

However, after further study, Captain
Kessler discovered that the law prohibits the
boards from classifying a person 2-S if that
person did not request the deferment. Therefore,
it appears that a student like Sam could
drop his 2-S deferment and serve his year with a
1-A while remaining a student, with reduced
chance of induction.

Captain Kessler said that the board could
keep Sam from joining the 1970 lottery
nevertheless. The board could reclassify him
1-SC, thus giving him a deferment for the
remainder of the year.

Sam would then have to decide if he wanted
to be 1-A for the 1971 lottery. If not he would
have to regain his 2-S deferment, assuming he
was still a student. If Sam decided that he
would rather be in the 1971 lottery than in the
lottery when his 2-S deferment would expire,
he could spend the year with a 1-A
classification.

In general, the effectiveness of the loophole
would depend on the individual draft boards. If
a board's members were determined to not let a
student join the more heavily populated 1970
lottery, they would merely have to grant a 1-SC
deferment to any student trying to lose his
student deferment.