50 years ago yesterday, Washington University students gathered in protest of the Vietnam War after learning of the shooting at Kent State University. The protest ended in flames.

Judging people for joining the ROTC, labeling them as murderers or as lacking morality, is elitist. It is failing to realize that not everyone can afford to go to college or has the connections and the guidance to find other scholarships to avoid the military.

As a former member of the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program at Washington University in St. Louis, I am glad to see that the current cadets now receive credits from Wash. U. for their efforts.

In the 44 years since the Washington University Faculty Senate voted to deny credit for ROTC classes, the United States has been through about a dozen unnecessary wars. I suspect many ROTC graduates participated. If a student wants to join the military, great, but where does training soldiers fit within the University’s goals?

When sophomore and cadet Connor Eulberg approached Dean Jen Smith last fall to ask why the College of Arts & Sciences didn’t offer credit for ROTC courses, he didn’t anticipate it would take 20 months to receive an answer.

A student’s Facebook post published last fall has reopened a decades-old dialogue about whether ROTC students should receive credit for their courses. The conversation comes as the campus’ almost century-old battalion struggles for visibility and recruits as the program looks to move past the specter of controversial wars and discriminatory policies.

When senior Claire Henkel reunites with friends from her all-girls high school, most of them don’t know how to broach the subject of her career goals. The battalion commander of Washington University’s ROTC program, previously a member of the varsity softball team, doesn’t come from a military family.

The repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that barred gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military could help mend a historically tenuous relationship between the military and some top-tier universities.

Senior Rachel Atkins has challenged the male dominated Army establishment with her appointment to cadet battalion commander for Washington University’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). Atkins is the first female to attain the rank in the Gateway Battalion’s history.

Social entrepreneur Eric Greitens inspired students to pursue public service through his lecture, “Inspiring Leadership in Challenging Times” on Tuesday, March 30. Greitens is more than a “social entrepreneur,” however—he is an Angier B. Duke Scholar, a Rhodes Scholar, a Truman Scholar, a U.S. Navy SEAL officer and the award-winning author of “Strength and Compassion” as well as a White House Fellow.