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| Home Front: Culture Wars |
| Return to class tough for vets |
| 2008-07-23 |
| CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) | Returning home after three tours of duty in Afghanistan, Derek Blumke was eager to return to college. But the Air Force veteran felt unwelcome at the University of Michigan as he tried alone to manage the transition from warrior to student. During one of his initial calls to the school, employees told him they couldn't answer his questions because he wasn't yet a student. Later, he found himself wandering around the Ann Arbor campus, trying to figure out how to use his military benefits to pay tuition and feeling like no one would help. "I was frustrated and angry and disappointed," said the 26-year-old former gunship maintenance supervisor who's now a senior studying political science and psychology at Michigan. "That frustration and anger turned into motivation. You don't want me here? OK, fine. I WILL come here." As veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq return to campus, many are finding that colleges and universities are only beginning to figure out how to help them transition back to civilian, social and academic life. Many need help with paperwork. Others seek emotional and psychological support, and some struggle to fit in with classmates who are often much younger. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #10 having worked and working at a ROTC gig I can tell you how true this is. Although where I work we take care of any veterans that seek us out - whether they're part of the program or not. A lot of professors are fairly ignorant - I know them on a faculty/staff level and I'm often amazed at how much commonsense they do not possess. |
| Posted by: Broadhead6 2008-07-23 11:35 |
| #9 I went back to school at the age of 30 and I wanted to stomp the shit out of most of those little turds that sat around me. Not until the last year on Engineering school had all the dipshits been weeded out and I started getting along with them. They are ignorant of the workings of the real world, they have never been in it. Straight from high school to college and none of the fun stuff in between. They are miserable little brats because they are being fast tracked to a career and a house and probably a family that they don't even really want. They should require a 3 year work period or make the min. age 21 to go to a university, unless you have a pretty good reason to go straight in. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-07-23 11:05 |
| #8 But like with the post-WWII era, the ivory tower is soon to learn that veterans have little tolerance for b.s. Schools take advantage of and abuse kids because they can. But veterans have a tendency to be either an irresistible force or an unmovable object. I remember the story of a Vietnam Vet gunship pilot who, when attending the first day of class, got an earful from a leftist professor ranting at his class about how the military was fascist and killed babies. Halfway through the lecture he stood up, which got everyone's attention, and loudly stated, "I do not have to listen to this shit!", in a loud voice, then walked out. Other students later told him that it just pulled the rug out from underneath the lefty professor, and that several other students followed suit, leaving the class looking half empty. For the rest of the semester, the lefty held his tongue and just taught the class. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-07-23 10:03 |
| #7 I had issues going back to college after my first enlistment, when I was in the reserves. A lot of it is that the students and teachers are so ignorant when it comes to the real world, and are childish as a result. The faculty, in particular, doesn't like being called on it, the way veterans call bullshit when they see it (in general). |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-07-23 09:53 |
| #6 The irony is that the great expansion of universities (and accompanying jobs for professors and administrators) in the second half of the 20th century was due to WWII vets attending on the GI bill. The "Ivory Tower" is not against biting the hand that created it. |
| Posted by: Spot 2008-07-23 08:08 |
| #5 veteran felt unwelcome at the University At a lot of universities the veteran IS unwelcome. By administration, staff and other students. There are others though. The hard part is knowing which ones. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2008-07-23 06:06 |
| #4 My son is a former US Marine, and currently an AF ROTC candidate. (He served 4 years in the Corp 1996-2000, so he missed the current unpleasantness.) At age 30, he is quite a bit older - and more motivated - than many of his classmates. He looks down on them as being undisciplined and immature. |
| Posted by: Rambler in California 2008-07-23 01:09 |
| #3 Especially the faculty! |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2008-07-23 00:41 |
| #2 Including the faculty. |
| Posted by: tipover 2008-07-23 00:34 |
| #1 Most of the Vet's are adults, most of the others are children.. No Surprise, no great analysis required. |
| Posted by: tipover 2008-07-23 00:33 |