Tommy Tuberville, the head coach for the Auburn University Tigers football team, recently announced that effective immediately, the university is ending its long standing policy of allowing military training on campus. The policy had been in place since the early 2000s, when the university began allowing members of the military to receive training on campus grounds.
In Tuberville’s statement, he made clear that the policy was based on the university’s commitment to serve society, further emphasizing the longstanding and deep-seated relationships that had developed over the course of the relationship with military members. Tuberville further extended this sentiment of appreciation in the statement by applauding the work of the different branches of the military, including the Navy, Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.
The new policy will significantly change how military personnel engage with the university. While members will no longer physically receive training on campus grounds, university staff and faculty have worked with the military to develop and strengthen new initiatives. These initiatives will focus on providing military members with resources such as access to educational courses, career and educational resources, and more.
This decision is not only welcomed by Auburn University but also by numerous people and organizations who wanted to see a shift in the military’s presence on college campuses. The policy has been criticized in the past for its potential to distort students’ beliefs and for not providing members of the military with access to proper mental and health services.
While the decision of eliminating blanket military holds may disappoint some, Tuberville acknowledged his commitment to building a relationship between the military and Auburn that is mutually beneficial, meaningful, and sustainable. Moving forward, the university looks forward to partnering more directly with military personnel and civilians alike to help facilitate education and exchange, and to create learning capability for our military members in the process.