Much depends on local draft board
Draft picture clarified for men confused by lottery
Photo by Ron Bishon
Lucky lottery rank leaves them out
Gordon T. Weir, Jim Schirmer and Bill Wright, Bonner Springs juniors, express their joy at the results of the draft lottery. Being ranked 271, 334 and 365 makes it certain that they will not be called on by Uncle Sam.
The seven year "period of uncertainty" for draftable men under the old selective service method ended Monday night with the introduction of the draft lottery. Yet the picture is still clouded for the college man who knows little more about the new system than his place in line.
He wonders, "Will my birthdate have the same priority several years from now when I graduate? Will I keep my present deferment or be reclassified? If I enter the draft pool after my number has been passed, will I have to wait until the next year when my number comes up again?"
To answer these and other questions, the Kansan interviewed Army Col. Junior F. Elder, director of the Kansas Selective Service.
Elder said Tuesday that the number assigned to each male between 19 and 26 years of age by the Monday night lottery would stay with that person throughout his time in the draft pool, whether he has a deferment now or not.
When a man graduates from college, thus losing his II-S (student) deferment, he is reclassified I-A and joins the highest priority group for regular draftees to await the calling of his number.
(Only draft delinquents—men who have failed to do something required of them by the local board—and volunteers have higher priorities for filling quotas. Next in line are those who have lost deferments, after which 19-year-olds and others without deferments are called.)
If a man graduates in the middle of the year and his number has already been called, he receives his notice soon after he is reclassified.
For example, Max, who was born September 14 and is first in line for the draft, will graduate from college June 1, 1971. His draft board finishes classifying him I-A by late July.
Of course, there has been a new drawing for 1971, but that doesn't affect Max, who was in the pool for the 1970 drawing.
His board filled its January 1971 quota with men born on date No.001, Max's number in the 1970 drawing. So Max is plucked from the group of men still waiting for their numbers to be called and is placed in the top draft priority
Max's draft board has a quota of 10 for the month of August. In our hypothetical board's jurisdiction is one man recently declared a draft delinquent and three men who voluntarily enlist. Max is the next man to receive his notice, after which the board calls two others whose deferments have just expired and whose numbers have been passed.
Max is in but his board must still reach its August quota. Having exhausted all registrants up to number 099, the board calls number 100. It takes one man who recently lost his occupational
Dec. 4 KANSAN 3
1969
deferment, then calls two 19- year-olds born on that date to fill the quota.
If the board found that five men were born on date No. 100, it would move to the alphabetical sequence also drawn Monday night and would pick the two men whose last names began with the letters of the alphabet selected first.
Elder emphasized that the deferment structure was not changed when the draft moved to the lottery method. A registrant classified I-Y under the old system retains that classification under the new system.
Local boards continue to give deferments under the same method as before the lottery. Automatically deferred are undergraduate students and graduate students pursuing a course in the "healing arts." Draft boards also defer those with physical disabilities. It is a practice to defer fathers, married students and people whose profession is in the national or local interest.
Under the national interest category fall such people as military researchers and scientists. Registrants deferred in the local interest include teachers, electricians, farmers, etc., in areas where those professions are short-handed.
Of the 445,000 men registered for the draft in Kansas, only 3,000 are classified I-A. Elder said. The
remainder are deferred or exempt from being called.
For those whose numbers are in the 100 to 200 range, where it is uncertain whether they will be called, Elder said that the chances of their receiving a draft notice depend on each local board's ability to meet its quota from the higher numbers.
The statewide draft quota for January is 139, Elder said. The national quota is 12,000 for the month.
Asked about the "loophole" discovered several weeks ago in the
Did Your Number Come Up?
The drawback lies in the chance that draft quotas for the final months might be increased.
Questions about your financial future.
Call Bob Joyce
lottery system, Elder described it as follows:
If a draft registrant with a deferment (for instance, a college undergraduate) saw late in the year that the callups would not reach his number in the order, he could drop his deferment, move into the draftable priority and wait out the end of the year. His number uncalled, he would be out of danger because his number had in effect been passed. After December 31, all numbers, 001 through 366, are considered "used" whether they have been called or not.
Buzzi and Associates VI2-7771.
Effective December 1st . for your convenience
NEW OFFICE HOURS
8:30 a.m.- 5:30 p.m.
Monday thru Friday
Naturally, those whose numbers fall in the bottom third are in little jeopardy any year unless a national emergency is declared. The "loophole" applies mainly to men on the borderline who might not be darfed one year but might be the next.
8:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon Saturdays
Maupintour
Elder noted that, to drop a II-S deferment, a student would have to take an insufficient number of credit hours, fail enough courses to be unable to complete the required fraction of his college study in a year's time, or drop out of school. He cannot simply ask his local board to cancel his deferment.
TRAVEL SERVICE
Elder said a change in graduate student policy mentioned by President Nixon when he proposed the lottery in May, has already gone into effect. The change allow's non-deferred graduate students who happen to be called in
The Malls VI 3-1211
the middle of an academic year to complete the full year's work.
Aside from those with borderline and "safe" numbers and those who can get occupational deferments after college, there are the men whose draft numbers fall between 001 and 100 or so and who face almost certain call.
KU students who wish further information on their draft status are urged to contact the Dean of Men's office at 228 Strong Hall.
Come by soon-watch our progress. We may be the oldest bank in Lawrence-but we're brimming with young ideas to make your financial life easier
Lawrence is on the move. And so are we! On the move to serve you better. We're calling our new motor bank at 9th and Louisiana 'Campusbank'-because of its convenient location. We hope you'll call it 'my bank'.
(it won't be long now!)
COMING SOON - Campusbank at 9th and Louisiana
---
DOWNTOWN - 1th and MASSACHUSETTS