
The Most Militarized Universities in America - bootload
https://news.vice.com/article/the-most-militarized-universities-in-america-a-vice-news-investigation
======
mcguire
" _Four categories of institutions of higher education dominate the VICE News
list of the 100 most militarized universities in America:_

1\. " _schools whose students attain their degrees predominantly online;_ "

This is very unsurprising. Online education is very attractive for people in,
for example, the military. Plus, many government service jobs just require a
degree, not that it be from a recognizable school; in general, as is often
mentioned here on HN, experience beats education and experience in this case
usually means the military or prior government jobs.

2\. " _schools that are heavily involved in research and development for
defense, intelligence, and security clients;_ "

I'm sensing that this is actually a relative minority on the list (although
most of the recognizable names fall into it). There is considerable overlap
between this category and the next two.

3\. " _schools in the Washington, DC area;_ "

Yes, obviously, plus schools close to large military bases (Cochise College,
Fort Huachuaca; Central Texas College, Fort Hood).

4\. " _and schools that are newly focused on homeland security._ "

And I'm not entirely sure what the heck that's supposed to mean. There's money
in "homeland security" much like there was money in nuclear weapon design at
one time.

I suspect this article is an attempt to work up heat about a
"education/intelligence community" doohicky to replace the venerable ol'
military/industrial complex. And I think it's a failure, since what I think
they've discovered is akin to "Google hires a lot of Stanford grads".

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ereyes01
I once hung out in the campus of Texas A&M University (no. 14 on the list) for
the PyTexas conference. It was so different from other university campuses in
that it felt almost like I was in a military base, or like in West Point or
something (which I've never been to). A good portion of the students I saw
were in uniform (ROTC), and the main student center, housing the bookstore and
the cafeteria, was a war memorial. Signs at the entrance asked you to be quiet
and remove your hats in honor of fallen soldiers.

While I understand that this article uses concrete data, like the research
money trail and other direct measurable links to the military, Texas A&M
certainly _feels_ incredibly "militarized", almost like a military academy.
There's a palpable air of austerity and discipline there that makes it so
different from most other campuses I've been to, which have much more of the
traditional church-y university look while seeming to be full of rowdy young
kids.

~~~
stonogo
Texas A&M is a "senior military college," meaning it is one of the six primary
ROTC campuses in the USA. The Citadel is another one. One of the requirements
for this designation is that able-bodied students must undergo military
training. So yeah, it's militarized. This is not a coincidence: it's policy.

It's hilarious that Texas A&M is this far down the list -- and it does not
make the list look well constructed. Their definition of "militarized" seems
to mean "people who went to this school work for the government now" and then
they act surprised by how many schools close to the seat of government feed
into government IT. Some of these schools, like the University of Phoenix and
Grantham University, are distance-learning institutions catering to people who
already have jobs; these people almost certainly worked for the government
_before_ enrolling. Grantham University in particular bends over backwards to
attract military veteran students.

I'm not sure what the value of this article is.

~~~
ereyes01
Ah, I didn't know about "senior military colleges." That certainly explains a
lot!

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senior_Military_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senior_Military_College)

------
loukrazy
The military is a great source of funding, it is pretty much that straight
forward. I knew a number of students that did work for the military because
they would pay scholarships. If someone thinks this is a bad relationship,
then move that funding to the NSF or NASA or NOAA instead and authorize them
to fund out-there ambitious projects just like DARPA and the military.

~~~
jacobolus
DARPA is one of the only government science sponsors that doesn’t come under
fire from Republican lawmakers for wasting taxpayer dollars. Money spent on
science is considered a waste, unless/until you slap the name “defense” on.

Look at the nonsense Lamar Smith is currently putting NOAA through.
[http://www.wired.com/2015/11/congress-chief-climate-
denier-a...](http://www.wired.com/2015/11/congress-chief-climate-denier-and-
noaa-are-at-war/)

Having Smith as the chairman of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee
of the House (which oversees research funding for NASA, NOAA, EPA, NSF, etc.)
is a travesty, and he individually deserves blame, but the whole GOP
leadership is on board with his basic goals and tactics.

~~~
hellbanner
And please no one forget that "Department of Defense" used to be called
"Department of War".

A funny change given how most of the USA's fighting happens away from its
soil.

~~~
vacri
I've always found it amusing that Captain America's gimmick is his shield. A
shield is normally a wholly defensive item, but Captain America routinely uses
it by throwing it at people...

------
jonesb6
I went to a school with both a large international program and what seemed
like a large ROTC program. Every Thursday ROTC students were required to be in
uniform. I always wondered how the international students felt being
surrounded by, what must've seemed to them as, soldiers.

I was especially curious about how the Middle Eastern students felt. Then
again most were from Saudi Arabia, who has something like the ~3rd largest
military expenditure per capita.

We really are a hyper-militarized country if you think about it.

~~~
crucini
In many countries everyone, or every male, has to do military service or
training. Linus Torvalds, for instance, had to take a year off from college to
serve.

I remember a Chinese programmer in Silicon Valley complaining that he toted an
AK47-like rifle but only got to fire three cartridges during his military
service - a cost saving measure.

~~~
jcranmer
Mandatory conscription was developed by revolutionary France, and after being
smashed by the French, the Prussians (whose military was arguably the highest
quality in Europe) adapted the system into the form generally known today
(every adult male has to provide N (usually 1-3) years of mandatory military
service). The US never had anything like this system: there was mandatory
conscription during the civil war, and the draft (a lottery-based system
rather than universally compulsory) was enacted in peacetime in 1940.

------
protomyth
Damn shame when my old school cannot make the list with an active drone
program [http://aviation.und.edu/prospective-
students/Undergraduate/u...](http://aviation.und.edu/prospective-
students/Undergraduate/uas-operations.aspx)

~~~
protomyth
looks like your hell banned hockeybias - truth of the world on the name though

~~~
mcguire
For a moment there I thought you were all talking about UA Huntsville, which
ought to be on that list (but I guess gets folded into UA).

~~~
protomyth
No, its a big frick up that makes me hate the NCAA when they expressly go
against the people's vote of a local tribe and now we will have a name made
fun of for generations.

UND is know for its pilot program and have now moved full scale into drones
which helps with keeping the local air force base. Ah, the games we play.

------
woodruffw
Speaking as a UMCP student, this isn't surprising. The NSA even takes out
interest ads in our newspaper. However, Vice seems to be mixing statistics for
UMUC (a commuter campus with a big online program) with UMCP (the state
flagship school). Same state system, very different schools.

------
backtoyoujim
I see a blue dot for University of Washington, but I see no star for Joint
Base Lewis-McChord, the Bremerton Naval shipyards (one of the last two
functioning belonging to the US), and of course Naval Base Kitsap.

But Vice did not see fit to include a military hub star for the Salish Sea.

------
Dublum
the common theme for half of the top 10 seems to be physical proximity to the
pentagon, fort meade, or both. UMD, GW, George Mason, Georgetown and Hopkins
are all in driving distance.

~~~
mcguire
...or to a large military base.

------
digitalzombie
I'm really confused as to why University of Phoenix is in the top ten.

That's a degree mill university, online university with horrible reputation.

------
_nato_
I said to myself, if it's not UMD, I'd be worried what was No. 1. Memories of
riot-police assembling like storm-troopers in fraternity row before a football
game...

~~~
ereyes01
I once hung out in the campus of Texas A&M University (no. 14 on the list) for
the PyTexas conference. It was so different from other university campuses in
that it felt almost like I was in a military base, or like in West Point or
something (which I've never been to). A good portion of the students I saw
were in uniform (ROTC), and the main student center, housing the bookstore and
the cafeteria, was a war memorial. Signs at the entrance asked you to be quiet
and remove your hats in honor of fallen soldiers.

While I understand that this article uses concrete data, like the research
money trail and other direct measurable links to the military, Texas A&M
certainly _feels_ incredibly "militarized", almost like a military academy.
There's a palpable air of austerity and discipline there that makes it so
different from most other campuses I've been to, which have much more of the
traditional church-y university look while seeming to be full of rowdy young
kids.

