By Rebekah Greene
Photo courtesy of mommylife.net
This past August, and more recently this past October, CSUSM was honored by two different military publications for being one of the colleges acknowledged as a military-friendly campus on different standards such as ease in providing services and other opportunities for veterans and active duty personnel on campus.
G.I. Jobs magazine recognizes CSUSM as a military friendly campus, placing the school among the top 15 percent of colleges welcoming veterans. Our campus offers for student veterans many benefits such as credit for service, veterans programs, and military spouse programs. CSUSM was also commended for its work in recruiting military and veteran students. More recently, the Military Times EDGE released a report stating how CSUSM ranks as a top university for veterans alongside 40 other campuses nationwide. Criteria that set the precedent included financial aid, the culture of the campuses, and different support services provided.
CSUSM’s Veterans Center opened in 2008 for veterans and current military personnel. At the center, students can find assistance from the Veterans Services Coordinator who maintains connections with the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Veterans Center also helps veteran and active duty personnel students with their academic pursuits and provides plenty of information on financial aid, resources, and education benefits for veteran students while remaining a place for visitors to stop by and be a part of the community.
CSUSM is scheduled to hold three events open for students and faculty, as well as the surrounding communities, early this November in honor of Veterans Day and the many veteran students who attend this campus. On Tues, Nov. 9, from noon to 1:30 p.m., the Veterans Center will host a Veterans Day celebration in the Tukwut Courtyard, with a campus-wide invitation. In recognizing our veterans, a student-veteran color guard will present the colors, and Deputy Commander Col David Myers of Camp Pendleton will arrive as a guest speaker. An Art and Lecture event, held on Tues, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m., will present the second year of the Operation Art exhibit, and feature guest lecturer, U.S. Navy Psychiatrist Captain Paul S. Hammer, MD. The event will be held at the CSUSM Clarke Field House. The third event is a screening of “Lioness”, an acclaimed documentary on female combat veterans. Hosted by the ASI Women’s Center, this showing, and following discussion, will take place on Wed, Nov. 10 in Commons 206 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.