Maggie Astor
New Jersey Peace Action Montclair, NJ


What are you doing to de-militarize your school / community?
Montclair has a policy where opt-out forms are sent to every high school student, informing them that their information can be released to the military and allowing them to opt out. With NJPA, I am working to get this policy extended statewide. I've launched a postcard campaign to New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, asking him to pressure the state board of education to implement such a policy. We've collected over 200 signed postcards so far, and hope to reach 1,000. I am also trying to set up a meeting with Governor Corzine, where I, along with at least two other high school students from different towns in New Jersey, would talk to him about the importance of students being informed of their right to opt out. We're also working with the People's Organization for Progress to distribute counter-recruitment literature to students in Plainfield, NJ, a lower-income community where more teens are likely to join the military, and we're applying for grants that would allow us to launch counter-recruitment initiatives in other towns as well.


Biggest success:
The response we've gotten to the postcard campaign. So many people are shocked to hear that students' information can be released to the military without their knowledge -- and, in fact, has to be, unless they opt-out. (The No Child Left Behind Act requires schools to release students' information to recruiters, or risk losing federal funding.) So few people know that they can opt-out just by signing a form, and people are really enthusiastic about signing a postcard and fighting to have opt-out forms distributed to every student.

Hardest Challenge
Setting up a meeting with Governor Corzine. I started by faxing a written request for a meeting to his scheduler's office. They didn't respond, so I called, and was told, "We received your request, but we don't know when the Governor will be available for a meeting. He's very busy with the budget right now." I sent a follow-up e-mail reiterating our reasons for wanting a meeting, and reminding the scheduler that the Governor is a member of NJPA's 50th Anniversary Host Committee, and thus should make himself available to meet with us. I also said that I and the other participating students are seniors, and would really like to get this done before we graduate. Still no response. We'll keep pressuring them until we get a meeting, but it's been very difficult.

How are youth taking the lead in the work you do?
Madelyn Hoffman, the director of NJPA, has played a big role in the campaign, but the vast majority of the work is being done by myself and two other high school students: Rachel Prehodka-Spindel of Clifton, NJ and Kristen Dolce-Kovalcik of Wayne, NJ. Also, students make up a large proportion of the people who have signed postcards. Students really care about this issue, because they're the ones getting harassed by military recruiters if they don't sign opt-out forms (usually because they don't know they can).

What is your school / community like?
It is a very progressive, socially conscious community (80% of the town voted for Kerry in 2004). It's very diverse racially, economically, socially and ethnically. We have several social action organizations based in or around Montclair, which deal with numerous different issues.

Advice for people who are just starting:
Get involved with a group or organization. It can be a student-run club at your school -- Montclair's opt-out policy was implemented in 2004 due to the efforts of OYE OYE, a group at the high school, and has been a huge success, with over 90 percent of students opting out -- or it can be a community organization. If you can't find a group, start your own, with some friends and an adult advisor. You can't do this stuff on your own. I couldn't have started this postcard campaign without the resources of NJPA, and I wouldn't stand a chance of getting a meeting with the Governor if I were just some random high school student with no organization behind me. As a group, you can share ideas, split up the work, and have more influence.