"Oh, Say Can You See?"

"Uncle Sam Wants You" has become America's billboard rallying cry. Good pay, chances for rapid advancement, opportunities for learning--all these have been loudly ballyhooed by the service units of the nation, especially the Air Corps. To the college student, the glow seemed particularly rosy.

But there was one fly--and a big one--in the defense ointment. When Uncle Sam asked for recruits for his officers' jobs, he always demanded that they be "in good physical condition." And "good physical condition" meant perfect or near-perfect eyesight--a qualification which a number of students, after a year or so of peering at various and sundry textbooks, can no longer boast about. That meant that the undergraduate without the required 20-20 vision, qualified though he might be in ability, training, and in enthusiasm and eagerness to serve, was left out in the cold. For a pilot, a bombardier, or a deck officer the regulation seemed thoroughly justified; for a number of other jobs, it seemed disconcertingly foolish.

But at last the bogeyman of student participation in the defense program is being pounced on. Announcement that the Army Air Corps will accept as navigators, students whose eyesight falls below the requirements for its flying officers, opens up a new field for the air-minded individual. And it affords Uncle Sam an opportunity to take advantage of the ability of a lot more of his citizens. Steps in this direction are what we need to stop education from being a deterrent to participation in national defense. Uncle Sam will now want--and get--more of you!