OPINION: Students are students, but they used to be soldiers too
Photo via: Ohio University Digital Archives
Students of Ohio University live in a bubble. Athens is a small and secluded town. Students go to school, go out on Court Street, join clubs, work and live here. While activism is still present on campus, it has never quite reached the level that the student and faculty body did during wartime.
Following World War II, students whose education was paused were favored for readmission in the spring semester following the soldiers’ homecoming. Just as well, housing became an issue. “Hog Island” was created with barrack-style housing for these veterans on what is now known as East Green.
The Vietnam War was the last time in United States history in which the military draft was used. The use of the draft had a noticeable impact on college life in the US. For example, wartime in Athens, Ohio, was not a time of peace, with clashing views and protests everywhere. In the present day, students are lucky enough to be able to live and learn during times of relative US Military peace. We take for granted the opportunity this presents.
The late 1960s were a time of uncertainty in politics. Family members were sent halfway across the world to fight in a war they may not have agreed with. Colleges around the world were riddled with violence and a shooting at Kent State University caused many universities, including Ohio U, to shut down. A flyer imploring the school to stay open for a vigil for the Kent State shooting sits in the Ohio U Archives in Alden Library, showing students’ dismay with the political climate.
There was a large amount of discourse on campus over the involvement in the Vietnam War, only heightening the tension. Ohio U students being drafted into the military for the war is likely something that will never happen again, but that does not make it something that should be forgotten. Current college students likely take for granted the ability to “escape” from the real-world problems that are raging.
A lot of protest and dismay for the time’s political climate happened on campus, but it also raged off campus. Religious belief often caused moral dilemmas for the soldiers forced to fight. These drafted men were called “conscientious objectors” and were not well received in their homecoming. The employees at the Athens Mental Hospital at the time were unhappy with these men who came to work at the hospital after returning home. The employees picketed the new employees, who seemed to be replacing the older ones. As students today, we have the freedom to have our own religious beliefs and practice them freely. We will never be forced to fight and kill, even if it goes against our religious or philosophical beliefs.
Universally, college students as a whole were affected by wartime efforts. Students’ time was spent volunteering, joining the military, and otherwise devoting their attention to VIetnam War efforts. In the book, “College and Universities in WWII,” the author, V.R. Cardozier, outlines the impact that higher education had on war efforts and how the war impacted higher education. While institutions across the nation struggled with enrollment and funding, some managed to stay afloat. The rocky politics of the world didn’t just have direct effects.
While today’s political climate could be described as rocky, it will never affect Ohio U like the Vietnam War and WWII did. Students live in relative bliss as they study and live in a small town. Classes aren’t interrupted by protests. Students are not pulled out of their education to serve their country. Students are not soldiers anymore, and, should a student become one, they are afforded the luxury of a choice.
This article was published as part of TNP’s Spring 2025 Print edition.