Veterans give back to college students

MSVA aims to help veterans transition from soldiers to students.

By Kaylen Ralph

Published May 7, 2010

The Missouri Student Veterans Association hosted Operation Free Lunch on Tuesday at Lowry Mall. The event was an attempt by veterans to give back to MU students.

Students waited in long lines for the entirety of the five-hour event to get their barbecue treats, MSVA Communications Officer Nicholas Khan said.

Khan said the event, a first for the organization, was a success, and similar events are in the works for the future.

"We're going to start rapidly changing our direction and have more events purely for social interaction between us and other students," Khan said.

Daniel Sewell, who was president of MSVA for the past two years, said he thinks the organization is at a better level of recognizable campus presence than it ever has been before.

"Ever since I've been involved, we've been able to elevate veterans issues to a recognizable level," Sewell said. "I don't think we have a problem on this campus."

Sewell said aside from being a recognizable student organization campus-wide, other student veterans groups in Missouri and across the U.S. have looked to MU as an example of how to expand and improve what they have to offer veterans returning from the war.

"I really think MU has set the bar, I guess I can use a military term, they've gone above and beyond the call of duty," Sewell said. "A lot of other campuses, not only around Missouri but throughout the United States, have really taken note of our success and the things that the university has done. When guys and girls come back from the war front, there are some issues that need to be addressed, and MU does a good job of it."

Sewell said such issues span from administrative issues to setting up a Veterans Center and Veterans class modeled after a similar class offered through the Student Success Center.

Khan said the event was a good way to let MU students know the veterans are here and to build mutual respect between the two groups. Khan said it can be difficult for student veterans to come back to school after serving active duty. He has been in the U.S. Air Force eight years and is at MU to major in either biology or chemistry.

"The whole goal of the MSVA is to provide the resources veterans need to integrate socially and academically with each other," Khan said. "We want to help make the transition from soldier to student as seamless as possible. A couple of years ago, before we had the MSVA, we had a lot of trouble. We're still a little geared toward military, which isn't the normal college student's state of mind."

Operation Free Lunch ended Tuesday when the veterans serving the food ran out of supplies. Senior Adam Stillman said he was especially appreciative of the free food because he had not yet eaten lunch.

"It's really nice of them," Stillman said. "It can't be cheap to provide free food for all these people."

Khan said a lot more events aimed at integrating the veterans and other students are in the works for the future. Sewell said this summer is an important time for increasing membership in an organization that has gone from having six to 90 members in four years as veterans return to Columbia in preparation to start school.

"It's our first opportunity to see new veterans on campus before school starts," Sewell said.