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Camouflaged on campus: Veterans among us. Margaret Baechtold Veterans Support Services. Camouflaged on campus. Veterans – who are they and what do we know about them? How do we support them through Veterans Support Services? What can each of us do?. Who is a veteran?. Camouflaged on Campus.
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Camouflaged on campus:Veterans among us Margaret Baechtold Veterans Support Services
Camouflaged on campus • Veterans – who are they and what do we know about them? • How do we support them through Veterans Support Services? • What can each of us do?
Camouflaged on Campus http://www.idsnews.com/news/inside/spub/veterans/default.aspx • Many thanks to Biz Carson and Tom Miller at the IDS for their work on this multimedia project
Who are they? • All ages, races, academic levels, majors, ranks • Approximately 430 utilizing VA education benefits each term • 27% female • 13% minority • 37% transfer students • 30% non-continuous enrollment • Terms to graduation 5.58 (VR&E) to 10.17 (activated reservists) • 52% graduate within 6 years (campus rate 71%)
Who are they? • Self-identification as veterans varies • Reasons for serving and for leaving service vary • Experiences vary, combat exposure varies, reactions vary • Educational preparation, experience, and goals vary • What are our perceptions and expecations?
Veterans Support Services • Two FT staff, one instructor/grad assistant, four work-study students, one student hourly, one tutor • IMU M084 – office and student lounge • Benefits • Orientation, U206 class, tutoring, resume workshop, research assistance • Referral to campus and community resources • Military withdrawal processing • Intersection of military and campus cultureand language • Student Lounge • Place to be at home as a veteran/military member while learning to be at home as a student/civilian
What can we do? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Esni1RbwU • Be thoughtful of what you say and ask • Media often portrays the extremes, reality is usually in the middle • Listen: Essay by David Pyle • Recognize that each has a unique relationship to their military experience
What can we do? • Continue to care about them as students • Be flexible when appropriate • Recognize our own perceptions and stereotypes • Acknowledge their service sincerely • Golden Book Project: IMU Memorial Room
Discussion • Where do you find veterans on campus? • What needs do you see? • What more would you like to know about them? • What more could IU be doing? • How can VSS assist you in your interactions with veterans on campus?
Resources • National Center for PTSD: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/ • Veterans in Higher Education: When Johnny and Jane Come Marching to Campus by David DiRamio and Kathryn Jarvis, ASHE Higher Education Report” Volume 37, Number 3 • Creating a Veteran-Friendly Campus: Strategies for Transition and Success, Robert Ackerman and David DiRamio (eds.), New Directions for Student Services, no. 126 • http://www.acenet.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/ProgramsServices/MilitaryPrograms/serving/index.htm • http://vetfriendlytoolkit.org/
Questions???? Veterans Support Services IMU M084 www.veterans.indiana.edu vetserv@indiana.edu 812-856-1985 Margaret Baechtold, Director Sarah Gibson, Veterans Services Specialist John Summerlot, Instructor and campus historian