Red, white and blue balloons adorned the halls of the Michigan Union on Friday, welcoming participants to this year’s Veterans Day tribute.
A day-long campus-wide symposium on Friday was designed to honor veterans and enlisted individuals, to acknowledge their sacrifices and to discuss the challenges student veterans face when they return to school after service. The events, which took place mainly in the Union and on the Diag, included a World War II veterans panel, film screenings of “Lioness” and “Taking Chance,” a care package collection drive for those currently serving and a discussion on post-traumatic stress disorder.
The symposium started off with a panel led by student veterans in the Union’s Kuenzel Room. LSA senior Ryan Pavel, president of the University’s chapter of Student Veterans of America, said during the panel — which he facilitated — that he believes it is important to discuss the challenges student veterans face.
There are approximately 400 student veterans on campus, according to Pavel. The University’s SVA chapter was founded in the spring of 2007, and support for veterans on campus has grown over the past few years, he said.
“Since then, there has been a few people who have been consistently lobbying for increased support (of veterans),” Pavel said. “Now I would say that (the University) is getting … increasingly veteran friendly.”
The panel featured eight student veterans who spoke about their experiences at the University. LSA junior Brendan Lejeune, a student veteran, said that he considers the University a very “veteran-friendly place.” He said the support of SVA helped ease his transition into academic life.
“I was 25 when I came here, and in some of my classes the kids were 18, and our life experiences were just night and day,” Lejeune said. “Having other vets near me made it feel like I was more a part of the University.”
Other panelists pointed out that veterans constitute only a small part of the student body. LSA sophomore Andrew Floyd said he feels there is a relatively small number of student veterans on campus and said he only sees fellow veterans at SVA functions.
“I would definitely like to see more veterans in classes,” Floyd said. “Certainly I think (veterans) enrich the learning environment.”
Business graduate student Lindsay Compton, a student veteran, agreed that veterans enhance the classroom setting. During the panel, Compton said she brings her experience in the armed forces to class by providing examples of leadership, discipline and teamwork.
“Our classmates have really great experience in the consulting world, or as accountants or whatever they may have done, but it’s amazing the depth and breadth that we (veterans) can give with our experience,” Compton said.
Compton added that it’s challenging but rewarding for student veterans to share these experiences with their civilian peers.
“I think sometimes it’s a little bit harder to open your mouth and share that because our experiences are a lot more intimate and a lot more challenging, but I think our classmates really appreciate our perspectives,” Compton said.