Student Senate's discussion tonight will include whether to add to its ranks a senator to represent student military veterans.
The change would give a voice to the more than 120 veterans attending Ohio University, said Senate President Robert Leary.
There are a lot of specific needs that veteran students have
Leary said. It's currently in nobody's job description to deal with these kinds of problems.
Leary said Senate could make the seat a non-voting spot while they secure a voting position, which would require a change to Student Senate's constitution, controlled by the Board of Trustees.
Leary said the discussion is part of a larger overall effort to make OU a veteran-friendly campus. More than 1,000 colleges and universities identify as veteran-friendly nationwide, but OU is not one of them, Leary said.
Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi said the population of military students is on the rise - particularly in the Appalachian region.
They will only be an increasing number as more veterans return from the current conflicts Lombardi said, referring to current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Doug Franklin, OU's assistant dean of Recreation and Wellness, is conducting a study into what makes a campus veteran-friendly. He said to be veteran-friendly, the campus must have one-stop shopping for information important to veterans' education, such as financial aid, registration, places to live around campus and student organizations to support them.
Franklin said one of the issues veterans deal with is how to manage school when facing deployment. Himself a veteran of the U.S. Navy, Franklin said he was confused about what to do when he had to leave his post and serve.
When I got called up after 9/11 I literally told my boss I had to leave
then spent a year in (Washington
D.C.)
Franklin said. There was no formal process to check in and check out.
Leary said negotiating the GI Bill causes financial difficulty for students. Delays often cause GI money to be dispensed after students sign up for the next quarter, creating red tape.
We also need to develop policies for families of vets
Franklin said. If a guardsman or reservist is called up
their spouses have certain educational rights.
The Ohio Board of Regents is working on the GI Promise, the largest expansion in veterans' benefits since World War II, according to the state's Web site, to expand opportunities for veterans in higher education.
Lombardi called the effort for the new senator a good start
saying a task force in his department currently is working on what it can do to make OU a better place for veterans.
We hope that by the end of the year we have a concrete set of guidelines for what we can do to support veterans
Lombardi said.
