Seniors are questioning the selective service mission, which is required by all 18 year old males to sign and optional for 18 year old females, as well as a potential “World War III draft” after the president ordered a precision strike to kill Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. Since then, some have been left confused as to why an individual’s sex plays a role in their legal requirement to sign up for the Selective Service Mission without regard to gender identity, as well as why a draft should occur to begin with. 

 

Senior Soren Chaney doesn’t believe a draft will be successful in this age. 

 

“If they bring the draft back, people are going to get mad,” Soren said. “There are going to be many people that get drafted and then don’t go. What are you going to do, arrest them all?”

 

As a transgender female, Soren expresses her confusion over the factor of gender identity in the Selective Service Mission due to the actions of the president. 

 

 “On the topic of being trans, I think it’s all based on who is the president right now,” Soren said. “He was the person that revoked transgender military rights, which is kind of interesting with the draft because you can get drafted even if you’re trans female but they don’t allow trans people in the military.”  

 

Soren feels as though the presence of trans people is not fully taken into consideration.

 

“I don’t think it’s quite integrated in the US system yet,” Soren said. “They’re either being treated as though they don’t exist or they’re being treated as a mental case and that’s not how it’s supposed to be.”

 

Senior Tyler Webb agrees with Soren about the government’s treatment of trans people. 

 

“It’s still a very weird topic, especially in American society,” Tyler said. “We’re still trying to come to terms with how we feel about it as a nation.”

 

As for the draft, Tyler also finds the position of trans people to be confusing. 

 

“When it comes to things like physical training and available jobs, things get a bit weird as well,” Tyler said. “If you get drafted as a trans woman, would you have to do the same things as a regular woman or would you have to do what the man does?”

 

Senior Eren Rudd finds that the physiological differences between a trans person and a cisgender person of the same sex would be something to consider as well.

 

“I think that they might be able to say ‘because of those differences in your physiology, you aren’t eligible for selective service anyways,” Eren said. “Especially with things like testosterone, which is something you have to take once a month. If you’re in the war, can you guarantee that you’re going to be able to do that?”

 

Because of this, Eren finds that trans people wouldn’t have to worry about being drafted. 

 

“The idea that we’d get drafted to the point where we’d draft people who aren’t eligible just isn’t realistic, Eren said. “You can’t even get drafted if you have asthma.”

 

Regardless, Soren questions the existence of the draft. 

 

 “The US has one of the largest voluntary military armies in the entire world,” Soren said. “So why have the draft still?”

 

Tyler is one example of the many voluntary members of the army in the future.

 

“I plan on going into the military anyways,” Tyler said. “It doesn’t really affect me as much to talk about the selective service.”

 

Soren offers potential solutions to the confusion behind trans people in the draft. 

 

“I would just get rid of the draft,” Soren said. “If I couldn’t do that, I would rather instead of it being based off your birth certificate, I would go off of something way more recent like a driver’s licence.”

 

Even so, she finds that the country refuses to change with every citizen in mind. 

 

“The Constitution was written to be future proof, but here we are.” Soren said.