Seniors May Delay ROTC Term 2 Years

This year's Army ROTC graduates will be allowed two years before going on active duty, the Pentagon has announced.

Previous graduates had not been allowed to delay their service more than one year except in special cases. The official reason for the change is to allow the newly commissioned graduates to have time to get more schooling or establish job seniority. However, a Defense Department official explained that cuts in military appropriations were an important factor in the decision and that fewer officers were actually needed under the current "more bang for a buck" philosophy.

Admissions officials at graduate schools here do not expect the change to cause a marked increase in applications. Kendall Emerson, Jr., assistant dean of the Faculty of Medicine, said, "We probably would not approve of a student's splitting up his studies by taking two years of military service in the middle of his four year program."

Dean Rogers of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences also did not anticipate many more applicants, explaining, "Theoretically, we might expect a slight increase in the number of applicants. However, as most of our students come here seeking a Ph.D., which almost inevitably requires more than two years, I do not think the change would help them very much, and I do not expect many more applications."

Louis A. Toepfer, director of Admissions at the Law School, said, "I do not anticipate much of a change for this year. Most applications have come in and most ROTC seniors have already made up their minds about whether to go into service now or later."

Louis B. Ward, director of Admissions at the Business School, agreed with Toepfer, and pointed out that under current regulations quite a few students had been allowed to wait for two years.