The flier read: "Did you know that this fall your high school will give your name, address and phone numbers to military recruiters unless you sign the student opt-out form . . . "
"We say, 'Did your adviser give you this?' 'Are you a junior or senior?' Of course, we get kicked off the grounds all the time," Paul said matter-of-factly.
Members of the Granny Peace Brigade Philadelphia are notorious hell-raisers. In 2006, 11 of them were arrested after going to a local military-recruitment center and refusing to leave. They were charged with trespassing, charges that were eventually dropped.
"We do this because we feel we owe it to our children, that they at minimum are influenced enough to make a sound decision when considering military enlistment," Paul said recently, over tea in her Germantown home.
"Recruiters are salespeople, and I don't mean that in a negative way. That's their job, to sell the military. But we feel as grandparents and educators that our job is for our kids to understand what they're doing could be life-threatening."
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, high schools nationwide are required to provide recruiters with the names, addresses and phone numbers of students unless the students sign a form that allows them to opt out. The grannies have made it their business to ensure that students know that.
"For some kids, [recruitment] feels like pressure. Some families find it annoying," Paul said. "Our goal is for all families to be aware of the choice and the implications. We're not there yet."
But despite the reasonableness of their arguments, don't think for a second that these sweet old ladies don't have a sweeping agenda. And it's an agenda radically at odds with U.S. activities in the Middle East.
