Campuses Prep for Influx of Veterans

It's not clear why the dead returned in the middle of Allen Marr's geology class.

But the flash from his past -- brought on by post-traumatic stress disorder -- was the undeniable signal that the transition from the military to the classroom had not been as smooth as Marr, a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, had believed.

With a new GI Bill effective this fall, student veterans like Marr -- president of the Military and Student Veterans Association at Western Michigan University -- say it's critical that campuses understand the needs of veterans who become university students, whether their needs are financial, mental or related to housing and other college-life decisions.

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The Post 9/11 Veterans Assistance Act of 2008 offers some of the most generous benefits since the original GI Bill in 1944. That's expected to send a surge of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and other military personnel and dependents onto U.S. college campuses -- up as much as 20% to 25% from current levels in the next two or three years, said Keith Wilson, education services director of the Veterans Benefits Administration.

The new bill will cover not only full tuition at a public university for anyone who has been on active duty for at least 36 months, but also a hefty portion of living expenses and tutoring costs.

Those who serve less time are eligible for a percentage of the benefits.

It's going to approximately double the benefits of the old GI bill, Wilson said.

So veterans advocates now are working double-time to make sure campuses are ready.

At the University of Michigan, two student veterans say they believe that the state can use the new GI Bill to give Michigan a desperately needed economic boost.

Derek Blumke, who helped found the national Student Veterans of America, and Carl Ireland, president of the Student Veterans' U-M chapter, want Michigan to offer in-state tuition for all veterans and establish university offices that could address veterans issues ranging from finances to mental health to housing.

"The whole idea is make Michigan veteran-friendly, a place that is welcoming and a place where they'd want to pursue their education," Ireland said.

What good is it for a university to attract student veterans if it can't keep them? he and others said.

Other Michigan universities are making moves to leverage the interest generated by the new benefits. They're setting up special offices, designating financial aid officers and counselors for veterans and exploring mentoring programs and other ways to connect older student veterans with new ones.

Those programs are a powerful marketing tool for the universities, especially since the new federal benefit will open classroom doors this fall to students who otherwise couldn't have afforded it, said Shaftone Bryne Dunklin, assistant director of Veterans Services at Eastern Michigan University.

"Oh, we're already getting calls," he said.

Feeling out of sync

Marr, a Vicksburg native who spent time in the Air Force's mortuary service, preparing the dead to return home, said it can take months to decompress and feel comfortable about being around a lot of people.

Certainly, Marr's hallucination in geology class -- "I got up and walked out," he said -- is a stark and poignant example of the problems a veteran can experience. He said he wished he'd already had fellow veterans to go to on campus for support and it was one of the reasons he started the student veterans group.

But Marr said they're not looking for handouts or coddling.

Far from it.

University administrators and faculty members say vets are often among the more driven students, identifying their career targets and setting out to obtain them without distraction.

Yet that adds to the feeling of being out of sync with other students, especially 18- or 19-year-olds who are living in freshman dorms or heading out to keg parties on the weekends.

Ferris State University, freshman Steven Neshkoff, 25, was part of the U.S. Air Force Security Forces for six years -- those that escorted Air Force One and high-ranking U.S. leaders around the world. He began a veterans group just this fall after having one too many students ask the tiring question: So, how many people did you kill?

"I mean, they can't come up with something else?" he said.

Proposal for veteran liaison

To help, U-M's Blumke, 27, of Alanson and Ireland, 25, of Grosse Pointe Woods have drafted a four-point plan they want to offer lawmakers in early 2009.

In addition to the in-state tuition, the proposal would require state universities to establish veterans offices. Those offices could provide information on everything from veterans benefits to tutoring to intervention and counseling. Such an office also could assist veterans when they're unexpectedly deployed -- acting as a liaison to the university when a semester is interrupted.

The final two components would be a waiver of the admissions fee and a mandatory review of the veteran's military training by the university to see whether any of that training may transfer to college credits.

The proposal has gotten the support of two-time Vietnam veteran and former U.S. Rep. Joe Schwarz, R-Battle Creek.

Schwarz has offered to help the two men walk the proposal through Lansing's hallways.

"This is a good piece of legislation, and it's the right thing to do," he said.

Use your GI Bill before time runs out!