There are many people that help to protect the United States by serving in the armed forces. After their time is up, they return to loved ones and their everyday lives which often includes college.
NEIU has a student body of approximately 13,000 students and roughly 10% are veterans. Nick Skiba, an employee and a student at the university is spearheading the efforts to start a Veteran’s Club.
The SGA is taking part in chartering the club and representative Peter Michalczyk said, “We finally have people interested in starting the club and seeing the process through.”
Those behind the efforts are hoping to address several issues veterans face on a daily basis. The Veterans Club seeks to raise awareness of homeless veterans, promote unity among veterans through various organizations, create understanding of veterans unique needs, enhance the academic learning experience and to promote the recognition of Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
Michalczyk said that the club has to wait for the next SGA session so the Charter and Rules Committee can approve them. The next step would be for the entire senate to approve them.
NEIU’s veterans are retired service personnel, both men and women, and they often have honorable discharges from the armed forces. According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, there are 25 million veterans living today. Of that number, three out of every four veterans have served during a time of war or at a time of hostility.
Even though veterans have served the country, it has not always been ‘easy’ to fall back into the groove of things.
There was once a time where some returning home found it somewhat difficult to find a job, receive additional training and even get adequate health care.
Since the early days of war, there has been a need to provide care for the returning veterans and in some cases, their widows and children. The U.S Department of Affairs has worked to meet the changing needs of US veterans over time.
Benefits that are awarded to our veterans include, but are not limited to health care, housing assistance and education. Many veterans return home and take classes to pick up trades while others go back to school.
The U.S Dept. of Veterans Affairs states that approximately 70 million people are eligible for benefits and services due to the fact that they are veterans, family members or survivors of veterans.
This year, the success of a new Veterans Club can be this university’s contribution to raising awareness on veteran issues. Memorial Day is September 3rd and Veteran’s Day is November11th.