The possibility of a military draft that would include college students moved closer to reality last night when the United States launched an attack on Iraq.

Unlike the Vietnam-era draft, college students will not receive deferments from military duty.

A discussion on draft laws and their ramifications will be held at 7 tonight in the HUB Assembly Room.

Congress and the president together can declare a draft. If a draft is announced, a nationwide lottery would be held to determine who is chosen for military duty, Barbi Richardson, a public affairs spokeswoman for the Selective Service System, said last semester.

The lottery selects men who have registered with Selective Service. By law, all men must register within 30 days of their 18th birthday. Men can be drafted until age 26.

Men are randomly selected by computer according to their birthdays, Richardson said.

First priority in the lottery would go to men who turn 20 in 1991, Lew Brodsky, assistant director for Public Affairs for the Selective Service System, said last semester.

Men who turn 21 this year would be the next to go; the process continues until age 25.

Because of this, she added, it would be highly unlikely for men age 23 and older to be drafted. Men 19 and 18 are the last to be drafted, Richardson said.

During the Vietnam War, students received a deferment from service until they either left school or failed to receive satisfactory grades.

About 1.8 million men were drafted during the seven years the draft was in effect, Brodsky said.

If a student receives a draft notice, he would be allowed to complete his current semester before reporting for duty. Seniors who are drafted would be allowed to graduate before serving.

Despite this, some options exist for those wishing to avoid military service, such as applying for conscientious objector status.

To qualify for conscientious objector status, a man must be "conscientiously opposed to all wars -- not a selective objection to a particular war," according to a Selective Service System release.

Opposition must stem from "religious, ethical or moral" beliefs and not "politics, expediency or self-interest," the release states.

But a conscientious objector must serve a minimum of 24 months. A man opposed to all military service must perform some civil service "which contributes to the national health, safety or interest."

Men whose beliefs allow them to serve in the military, but not in combat, "would be assigned to non-combatant duties and would not receive any training in the use of weapons," the release states.

Other deferments include one for men "whose induction would result in hardship to persons who depend upon them for support."

Also, some students in the ROTC programs are exempt from the draft.