Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee made a visit to the university’s first veteran’s-only class Wednesday afternoon to find out what issues veterans face as they transition into the university.
The course, “Experiences of War,” is a GEC Arts and Humanities course that allows veterans to have debates in an environment where they can feel comfortable expressing their thoughts.
The course is taught by Susan Hanson, assistant program director of Literacy Studies. Hanson has also implemented a Veterans Learning Community and serves as the adviser for Vets 4 Vets, a student group created to support student veterans .
Gee brought Viviana Ruiz, his assistant and a war veteran, to take notes as he allowed veterans to ask questions. Anything was fair game, Gee said.
After giving general information about OSU, the questions came rapidly and Gee stayed for almost an hour, presenting information about OSU and listening to concerns. The answers to most questions by Gee were yes, yes and yes.
Issues concerning the transferability of military courses and the potential for a VIP process for veteran applications were discussed by students. One veteran said his application was lost in transit three times as he applied while in Iraq.
Paul Bland, an undecided second-year who served for 15 months in Iraq, asked if they could expect more classes in the future.
“The answer is yes,” Gee said.
Another student wondered why OSU did not offer online classes for military members who are overseas.
“That’s a good question, I don’t know exactly,” Gee said. “We are taking a very serious look at it.”
Bryan Ortuno, a second-year business major, asked if there would there be any way to waive the application fee and cater orientation programs toward veterans.
Gee said both would be possible.
Veterans have been having difficulty transferring military courses or courses from other universities to OSU.
“We don’t really have a good way to let people know up front how credits transfer,” said Michael Forrest, program director of Affirmative Action and Veterans Affairs at OSU.
The veteran count is growing, said Forrest, This fall there were 1,016 veterans on campus.
Hanson has been doing what she can to offer help to them and said she and the class had been excited about Gee’s visit and his support.
“I’m looking forward to some advice from him how best to proceed in expanding the academic opportunities for these students,” Hanson said.
Gee promised more action in the future by the university to
accommodate veterans.
“This should not be rocket science,” he said.
