University of Virginia Library

Naval Defense

The Student Council ROTC
Affairs Committee and the Student
Council Curriculum Evaluation
Committee have submitted a report
to the Faculty Curriculum Committee
which recommends the removal
of credit for the courses offered by
the RTOC, AFROTC, and NROTC
departments.

They divide the courses offered
into two classes, the academically
oriented and the professionally
oriented courses. The NROTC
offers no academically oriented
courses, but rather requires the
prospective naval officer to take an
elective in International Relations,
Diplomatic History, and Computer
Science. If these courses are presented
dogmatically, then it is the
separate departments at fault and
not the Naval Science Department.

The courses taught in the Naval
Science Department are apolitical.
They represent factual material
about which there can be no moral
controversy. These are the professional
courses mentioned in the
report to the faculty of which
"Naval Weapons Systems" was one.
According to the Naval Science
Department this course is no longer
offered. The NROTC courses offered
are Principles of Naval Organization
and management practices),
Introduction to Naval Ships
Systems (a survey of the engineering
department, and the principles
and equipment found on large
vessels,) Navigation, and Naval
Operations (the theory, principles,
and procedures of ship movement
in unethical formations and dispositions).

The instructors of these courses
are approved by the faculty and are
chosen by the Navy to teach in a
field where they have practical
experience. The material is not
taught at a highly technical level,
but rather based on a liberal arts
background and generally tend to
be a survey of the field. It is the
knowledge that these instructors
have plus their ability to communicate
it and not necessarily their
academic degrees which determine
their competence.

I therefore submit that a more
intellectual study of the curriculum,
at least of the Naval Science
courses, rather than the more
biased one offered. At the very
least, they could verify their information.

One final thought, can these two
committees really believe that these
"faults" with the curriculum are
serious enough to require the
discontinuation of the three ROTC
programs at the University?
Shouldn't a liberal school allow all
its students to work toward the
careers they desire? How can the
University censor any students
quest for valid knowledge?