Word: present
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...widely-held conviction among liberal arts faculties that our system of courses and credits has got out of hand, and that our students are capable of far more independence than they exercise in present college programs. We propose a college which frees both students and faculty from the system which makes education a matter of giving and taking courses to cover subjects...
...from the budget still-born, any expenditure on the scale of either plan seems out of the question. Moreover, neither plan contemplates ending the draft, for even under the Cordiner proposals the Army will need privates and the Navy able-bodied seamen. But the only suport for the present system seems to be the argument that without the draft, enlistments in all branches of the armed forces would fall and make it impossible to maintain a military establishment of two-and-a-half million...
...paradox of the draft as an incentive to enlistment is actually a fairly strong argument for draft extension, if one concurs in the belief that the armed forces must maintain their present size. Most Congressmen do concur and are naturally puzzled when the Army announces that "for economy reasons" it is weeding out 30,000 of its 900,000 men. Perhaps Congress could take the trouble to clear up some of the peculiarities of the deferment and exemption provisions, but these and the anxieties they may create among students are obviously not powerful enough reasons to scrap the draft...
...being asked about the draft is whether it is assuring the nation a well-trained force of men under arms and a reserve capable of rapid and effective mobilization. To both parts of the question, many critics maintain, the answer is an unqualified "No." They view the present arrangement as obsolete in terms of military realities in that it does not set up small fighting units ready for instant transportation to limited trouble spots, so-called "brushfire wars." Nor does it encourage the maintenance of a highly trained technical corps which, once trained, will stay in uniform. Nor does...
...these criticisms are valid, then something is quite clearly wrong with the present draft arrangement. The law expires this June, and perhaps it is not possible for the Congress to give the problem the careful scrutiny needed for legislative reform by then. But perhaps, also, such scrutiny is obligatory, not because of anxiety neuroses in American draft eligibles, but because the draft is actually a totally inadequate answer to America's defense needs. If Congress does decide to explore the question or to extend the act on a sort of probation, it might also look into the fact that...