Pointlife
Veterans Club is looking to create a firm base for the future.
Veterans Club of UW-SP strives to create community on campus within itself and other organizations
The Pointer
mbaum925@uwsp.edu
Going from a job where brotherhood, camaraderie and responsibility are primarily elements to an environment that is stereotypically known for drinking and other unpredictable behaviors can cause quite a disruption. Veterans on campus face this and look to each other as a way to provide comfort in this transition.
In providing this healthy transition, members of the Veterans Club of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point do not tend to alienate each other based on the branch of the military that they came from. Pat Brown, a sophomore and Iraqi vet, reinforces this position.
“From the meetings we have held, there has not been branch discrimination. Everyone has their own sense of pride for their own branch, but it does not come up face -to-face,” said Brown.
Phil Komosa, another club member, notes that background is not a concern. Komosa, an Iraqi vet, speaks for the lack of differentiation within the organization.
“Personally, I’m friends with Navy, Air Force, Marines that are in the club.
“We also like to associate with non-traditional students. Similar to veterans, they seem to be out of place due to age or taking a couple years break before coming into college. We like to say all military branches and some non-trads are more than welcome,” said Komosa.
Both gentlemen spoke of the struggles that are inherent when attending the university.
“I think the biggest struggle is meeting someone of common ground. That’s why having a vets’ club on campus is good. Others who have shared similar experiences, are the same age, just having similarities in general,” said Brown.
“I would say some of the troubles are getting back into the normal swing of being in an educational and academic environment. For me personally, going from training with weapons and dodging bullets and then being expected to sit in a classroom while other people ask you all these different questions about being in service, it is a little harder for me to cope. It is a great hinderance on their emotional state, as well as the academic environment,” said Komosa.
Outside of being in a war zone, there are other experiences that come into play separating vets and a student right out of high school.
“The biggest thing: in class, general discipline, common courtesy, respect, traits I know from the Marine Corps. Addressing the professor by proper title, most students do not do that,” Brown said.
“There is a very big noticeable difference. A student coming straight out of high school and into college expects big situations such as partying, not as much as their responsibility and commitment to school. From the military, one is considered to be highly disciplined, highly responsible, with a great amount of commitment while being in school,” said Komosa. Komosa believed that veterans tend to commit themselves to classes. They remain self-motivated, get work done, and do what they need to do. Also, there is no comparison between partying in the U.S. and partying overseas. On those grounds he felt veterans felt less obligated to go out on a Friday and Saturday night and tended to worry more about the next week of school.
Something that the Veterans Club has done is open itself up to lines of communication between themselves and other organizations.
“We only became an official organization at the end of last year. We have been working with the SGA trying to get wellness credits approved from being in the military,” said Komosa.
The club has already been forming a strong relationship with the Alliance of Non-Traditional Students at UW-SP and is looking to foster relationships with other organizations as time passes.
It is the hope that the sense of community that is fostered among the Veterans Club will transfer over to creating that sense of community among all of UW-SP.
Brown hints at this in his very reasoning for joining the organization.
“I mostly joined the Veteran’s Club here at Stevens Point to be in contact with other vets and meet other people around campus,” said Brown.
Those looking to become involved with this forward-looking organization can attend meetings, every Tuesday, at 5 p.m. in the Brewhaus located in the basement of the Dreyfus University Center.
