Students in the Reserve Officers Training Corps can finish their studies before serving out their time with the military, even in the event of a draft.

Hardship dependencies, those in the National Guard or military reserves, clergymen and those studying for the clergy are all exempt from the draft.

A military ban on gay men does not exempt them from reporting for physical exams, but those familiar with the process say that, with proof, gays can claim exemptions under a clause that disqualifies those with "disabling mental or physical condition."

Gays and would-be conscientious objectors should plan early for a draft, says Judith E. Schwartz, a counselor with the Cambridge-based Boston Alliance Against Registration and the Draft. Most important is collecting background information that can be used in a hearing, like letters from friends or family, she says.

What To Do

"In the event of a draft," Schwartz says, "they need to get a hold of Form 9 at the post office. On that form they can claim to be reclassified as a conscientious objector or as someone with a disabling mental or physical condition."

The next step, a hearing with military officials, can be trying, says Robert Dove, a counselor with the American Friends Service Committee. "Sometimes you get questions like 'What would you do if Hitler killed your grandmother?' I would never believe it if I hadn't gotten that one myself."

When deciding whether to award conscientious objector status, Dove says, the military looks for depth and sincerity of belief. He adds that selective objection--to some wars and not all--have not been adequate for exemption in the past.

Thought of the draft, for this generation of young men, immediately evokes images of resisters of the Vietnam War era: protestors sticking flowers in the gun barrels of soldiers guarding the Pentagon, students sitting-in, teachers teaching-in and John Lennon and Yoko Ono sleeping-in, staying in bed to protest the war.

And there were those who fled to Canada. But crossing the border to escape the draft is a less appealing option due to tighter immigration rules, a spokesperson for the Canadian Embassy said.

Now, the same young men who look upon past resisters as either hippie criminals or courageous disobedients are faced with the prospect of making those same decisions for themselves.

Chances Are Slim

Most experts point to big differences between the Vietnam War and the Gulf War and say that draft worries are premature.

In the 1960s, the draft was a fact of life for American men, having been in place continuously since 1948. As such, the need for increased forces in Southeast Asia met with little initial resistance.

But painful memories of the Vietnam War and the intervening years have turned public opinion against a draft. And even if this were not the case, experts say, a draft will probably not be necessary.