The Princeton Army ROTC is planning a march from The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) to the University in support of American troops in Iraq.
The march will begin at TCNJ on the morning of April 23 and include cadets from TCNJ's ROTC, which is partnered with Princeton's. The march will cover 12 miles, with stops at businesses and residences along the way to request supplies to send to troops overseas.
Master Sergeant Timothy Ross of the Princeton Army ROTC coordinated the effort, which began with a drive last spring, on both campuses.
"My cadets decided they wanted to do something to support the soldiers who were off fighting the war," Ross said.
Princeton's ROTC has recently been the focus of some controversy. Last week, a group of students submitted a petition asking the USG to take action against ROTC on campus because of the military discriminates against gays.
Planning for the march, however, began before the petition was submitted. Last year's participants collected between 300 and 400 pounds of personal hygiene products and entertainment goods to send to Iraq, Ross said.
"Being an active-duty guy here on campus and knowing my friends are over there [in Iraq] feels a little funny," Ross said.
In the wake of TCNJ's ROTC efforts last year, TCNJ fraternities collected more than 900 pounds of supplies, which Ross directed to units in Iraq.
Ross plans to send the bulk of the supplies from this year's march to the First Battalion, First Infantry "Bobcats" unless he can find an alum of the TCNJ or Princeton ROTC overseas.
Cadet Sergeant-Major Gabriel Legendy '05 said that his feelings about the troops in Iraq were separated from any sense of politics.
"Not all of us support what's going on," he said. "We don't discuss it. We just take it as a fact that we're in war."
"For the [upperclassmen], it's more a feeling that there is a better-than-even chance of us being in Iraq soon ourselves," Legendy added.
Cadet Amy Swiatecki-McCabe of TCNJ said the march will be both a show of support for the troops and a training exercise.
"There have been a lot of efforts on campus to raise goods for overseas. A lot of our training involves going on marches, so it was an interesting idea to incorporate training and support for the troops," she said.
The programs hope to have between 10 and 15 cadets from TCNJ on the march, but they aren't sure of Princeton cadet numbers. "Hopefully we'll get an equal number, but we don't know if that's going to happen," Swiatecki-McCabe said.
The marchers will drop flyers at houses along the route to raise community support for their activity. TCNJ is also planning a flyer effort on campus to raise awareness and supplies.
At Princeton, Ross hopes to work with presidents of the eating clubs to organize in-house drives for supplies.
Charlene Hoffner, administrative assistant to the Princeton ROTC, has arranged to place a box in Frist where donations can be dropped until April 25.
Other members of the campus communities are welcome to march.
"Anyone can do it, anyone who supports our troops," Hoffner said. "It's not a cadet thing, it's an American thing."
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