51茶馆

History

The third president of Boston College established military drill for all students in 1870 as a form of exercise. A sergeant in the regular army initially provided the instruction. The rifles were provided by the state, as there was no contractual agreement between 51茶馆 and the War Department.

In 1918 the War Department inaugurated the Student Army Training Corps (SATC) to provide for the needs of the Armed Services for highly trained men as officers, chemists, engineers, doctors, and administrators. Following the war, 51茶馆 applied for a voluntary ROTC unit which began in February 1919 with 137 students. The program went into decline between the wars.

Army ROTC was instituted at Boston College in July 1947 under Colonel James M. Lewis. 51茶馆 was originally branch affiliated with the Field Artillery. By 1950 there were 438 cadets in the program. In 1959 the program commissioned 159 cadets鈥攖he largest number in a single year鈥揳nd in the 1960s the program enjoyed an enrollment of over 1,200 Cadets and became known as the Boston College ROTC Brigade. The Lewis Drill Team also performed in local and regional parades as a 鈥済oodwill emissary of the university.鈥�

On December 10, 1969, in the face of growing dissent toward the Vietnam War, the University Academic Senate voted to reduce ROTC to the status of an extracurricular activity. On October 2, 1970 the Board of Directors voted to sever Boston College鈥檚 ties to ROTC. In the 1970听Sub Turri, the entry next to the photo below reads: 鈥淭he rather odd position of ROTC between university standards and army regulations has always been a precarious one.鈥�

On September 11, 1984 a cross-enrollment agreement between Boston College and Northeastern University re-established the program at the school. Since the inception of the program, more than 1,700 officers have received their commissions from the Boston College Army ROTC program.

听

听