Memorial Day means a day off of school and an excuse to barbecue for most students, but for student veterans, the holiday is a time to remember their experiences and look for ways to move forward.
Veterans and Family Student Association Director Jason Alves joined the U.S. Navy in August of 2001 not anticipating war. He was part of the Navy during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and said although he wasn’t on the front lines, he still felt the pressures of combat.
“I was just fixing F-18 radars on the aircraft carrier, but in the back of my mind, I knew what the planes were going out to do,” he said.
It is Alves’ experience in the military that motivates him to help other veterans get the protection and services they need when they return home.
Alves said he feels fortunate he made it out of the service in one piece, but he won’t forget his comrades who may have found themselves in more compromising positions.
Alves said he carries a sense of regret on Memorial Day.
“I always slow down on Memorial Day,” he said. “It really hits home for me, but at the same time makes me guilty that I am home safe when guys that joined the same time that I did aren’t. We have to remember that some veterans don’t make it through the holiday as easy as we do.”
Alves contacted Rep. Chris Edwards (D-Eugene) in the beginning of the 2009 legislative session to discuss how legislators could help student veterans overcome the financial and psychological obstacles many encounter when they return home.
Two bills resulted from their correspondence.
House Bill 2571 would give veterans with honorable discharges in-state tuition and fees. The bill would also remove residency requirements for students receiving educational benefits if they were veterans.
“If you serve the entire country, it doesn’t make sense that you would have to pay more for your education in one state than you would in another,” Edwards said. He said he would not have become aware of the issue surrounding student veterans had Alves not approached the legislature about it.
“I am grateful to Jason Alves from the UO for bringing this situation to my attention,” Edwards said. “It is a great example of how citizen involvement with the legislative process can make a difference.”
Edwards said it is common for military students to establish residency in the state where they are stationed and return home to find they lost their residency and are faced to pay out-of-state tuition.
“It just doesn’t make sense that our military personnel who grew up in Oregon, but who have been out of state during their service, would have to jump through a bunch of hoops to re-establish their residency status when they come home. It needs to be fixed,” he said.
Alves also helped develop HB 2178, which would create a Campus Veterans’ Service Officers Program in Department of Veterans’ Affairs. The program would appoint a sufficient number of veterans’ service officers to every institution and community college within the Oregon University System. The veterans service officers would be responsible for making student veterans aware of opportunities and support that is available to them.
“I am all for anything that educates and helps integrate veterans back into civilian society,” University senior and veteran Jared Mills said.
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UO student veteran inspires bills
Daily Emerald
May 21, 2009
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