Voters in unabashedly anti-war San Francisco have made it city policy to oppose the presence of US military recruiters at public high schools and colleges. The "College Not Combat" initiative passed with about 60 percent of the vote after balloting Tuesday.
The measure does not block recruiters from trolling campuses for potential soldiers. Such a ban would result in schools losing federal funding.
The proposition calls on city and school officials to create scholarship and training programmes that give students viable alternatives to signing up for military service.
The proposition will strengthen the school board's resolve to deny military recruiters "free access" to San Francisco students, school board member Dan Kelly said while publicly endorsing the measure. Passage of the proposition came as a "counter-recruitment" movement gained momentum in Northern California.