I know that Brown doesn’t have the greatest reputation as being accepting of the military (the destruction of American flags by students in advance of their campus Veteran’s Day observation in 2016 was pretty telling), but I have to admit that I was astonished when I saw the stats on this year’s graduating class. Out of 1,696 undergrads, only three became commissioned military officers and another four were veterans. That’s it. Hard to believe that their admissions office can’t find more than a handful of ROTC or veteran applicants each year that are worthy of acceptance. Talk about a URM.
Correlation does not imply causation…it may be possible that military-minded applicants choose other schools for a variety of reasons.
My understanding is that former military are the primary group represented in those accepted to Brown through the returning undergraduate education program.
Also, it is not logical nor fair to ascribe to an entire institution an attitude that is not accepting of the military based on the conduct of a few. What happened in 2016 was the action of a few.
On a final note, one of the many reasons that college students participate in ROTC is to help fund their educational expenses. Given that Brown is one of the few universities in this country that covers full financial need, the need to cover expenses through participation in ROTC is less than it might be at other universities. This is just one of many reasons that there could be lower participation at Brown.
I think the OP is jumping to conclusions based preconceived bias.
Worth noting, Brown does not have its own ROTC program on campus. I would assume that many looking for a ROTC college experience might choose another school based on that fact. Transportation to these other schools listed below would provide extra hurdles.
From Brown’s website:
"Brown offers ROTC through partnerships with other local institutions, and Brown cadets/midshipmen conduct their training at the host institution:
Army ROTC: Patriot Battalion at Providence College
Naval ROTC: College of the Holy Cross
Air Force ROTC: Worcester Polytechnical Institute"
Here’s an article that explains the complicated history of ROTC at Brown.
Despite the low numbers, Brown seems to be making a concerted effort to portray itself as welcoming to vets and ROTC. The recent article below is institutional PR, but it suggests Brown admin does not want the school to be known as unaccepting of military. Looks like the admin is sensitive about the very issue raised by OP.