By Chris Giancamilli

Photos by Chris Giancamilli

In 2008, Cal State San Marcos became one of the newest schools to feature a veterans center to support students who are current or former members of the military. Today, the CSUSM Veterans Center serves several functions. The center not only provides a place for the ever-expanding population of student veterans to hang out, but also provides much needed information on the benefits of being a student veteran.
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) works with the CSUSM Veterans Center to help student veterans. The center serves as an intermediary to guide the process of acquiring benefits from the VA. The CSUSM Veterans Center mediates between students and the VA in order to ensure students get the most help possible.
Thanks to the Post-9/11 GI Bill, student vets are eligible to receive help with their tuition and fees, monthly housing, books, and supplies. Legislation like the Post-9/11 GI Bill has allowed easier reintegration of veterans into schools once their service is complete. It is available for veterans seeking undergraduate or graduate degrees, as well as vocational and technical training.
The Veterans Center recruits veterans as potential students to CSUSM by setting up booths at junior colleges and military bases. Their goal is to let veterans know that CSUSM is a veteran friendly campus and strives to help them as much as possible.
The CSUSM Veterans Center also provides information on veteran life outside of school. They also help student vets find out what veteran activities are taking place in the local area.
While information is essential, the Veterans Center serves as a friendly environment for student veterans to relax, drink coffee, watch TV, or surf the web. The center features a large TV that the vets use to play some of their favorite movies including “Avatar,” “The Hurt Locker,” “The Dark Knight,” and “Super Troopers.”
There are currently seven student veterans running the center with room for expansion. Two of the members of the Veterans Center are on active duty in the Army Reserve.
The CSUSM Veterans Center also helps sponsor various events throughout the semester. On Nov. 9, they will be holding their annual Veterans Day celebration at noon in the Tukwut Courtyard. It will feature a color guard of CSUSM student veterans and feature a message from the deputy commander of Camp Pendleton, Col. David Myers. The event is free and open to everyone.
The center is located on the third floor of Craven Hall. The Veterans Center is not an official school club; therefore, the center does not receive an operating budget from CSUSM. They welcome donations of anything from DVDs to food. As the population of student veterans grows, so does this community of men and women eager to earn their degrees. For more information on the CSUSM Veterans Center, contact their Facebook page “CSUSM Veterans.”