Marquette University, WI Closing the School of Americas
Type: Resolution
Status: Adopted
Source File: Click here
Text:
Resolution #5
Whereas: It is the role of Marquette University Student Government, to identify, understand, and actively address and represent students’ needs, concerns and interests; and,
Whereas: This year’s mission week was entitled “Challenged to Choose: the Courage to Act” and challenged Marquette Students to make the most ethical decisions possible1; and,
Whereas: The School of the Americas (SOA)2 is a combat training school for Latin American soldiers, located at Fort Benning, Georgia3; and,
Whereas: Over 59 years, the SOA trained over 60,000 Latin American soldiers in counterinsurgency techniques, sniper training, commando and psychological warfare, military intelligence and interrogation tactics; and,Whereas: The SOA has been called into question regarding various human rights abuses by its graduates4, including the murder of six Jesuit priests in 19895; and,
Whereas: SOA graduates continue to surface in news reports regarding both current human rights cases and new reports on past cases6; and,
Whereas: H.R. 1707, “The Latin American Military Training Review Act of 2007,” is currently in the 110th Congress, and supports the suspension of the SOA and its authority7; and,
Whereas: Many Marquette students and student organizations have called for the close of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.
Therefore: Let it be resolved that Marquette University Student Government formally support the closing of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly known as The School of the Americas.
1 Marquette University Mission Week
2 The School of the Americas has changed its name to the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation
3 School of the Americas Watch
4 Library of Congress
5 Common Dreams News Center
6 Center for International Policy
7 Library of Congress