In a bustling reception room overlooking Cornell’s majestic campus, over 50 student veterans assembled for the ninth in-person Ivy League Veterans Council (ILVC) conference.
Planning an in-person conference is quite a feat, especially after the worst of the global pandemic. Michael Sanchez, the Cornell Undergraduate Veterans Association (CUVA) Affairs Coordinator and ILVC Director, told the Cornell Review that, although it was challenging to bring the ILVC back in-person, CUVA took every step to keep the event up to the university’s COVID-19 guidelines.
The attendees were in their element, discussing some of the pressing issues veterans faced at their respective institutions. Some of the conversations focused on ways to increase employment and networking opportunities. Others centered around creating more academic access to the Ivy Plus institutions.
Roland Molina, president of CUVA, explained that there have been notable achievements in the past year for student veterans at Cornell. This academic year, 93 student veterans were enrolled at Cornell, compared to less than 10 in 2015. And last month, the university opened a new Cornell Veterans House. Molina credited these accomplishments to the support of students, alumni, University Assembly leadership, Rep. Thomas Reed (R-N.Y.), Gen. George W. Casey, and Provost Michael Kotlikoff.
Other institutions have also made tremendous progress. In 2020, the College of William and Mary welcomed its first special assistant for military & veterans affairs. The college also appointed a new executive director of the Center for Military Transition. It also announced that it will launch its “Flourishing in Life Transitions” certificate program for veterans and members of the intelligence community in June 2022.
When asked by the Cornell Review how William and Mary achieved these milestones, Anthony Ventura said that having a Director of Student Veteran Engagement as an advocate was a key element to advancing the goals of the student veteran community. Ventura also told the Cornell Review that the Student Veterans of William and Mary would be hosting the Virginia Assembly of Student Veterans. The goal of this initiative is to advocate for student veterans’ welfare and to increase collaboration between colleges and universities, and its first official objective is to set a benchmark for schools to reach before institutions can say they are “veteran-friendly.”
Despite tremendous progress, Molina noted that much work still needed to be done at Cornell. He told the Cornell Review that he aims to push for the creation of a veterans resource center on central campus, accessible to all members of Cornell’s military community. Molina pointed to the National Veterans Resource Center at Syracuse University as an example of what the university should aspire to create.
Molina also disclosed that he is working with representatives on the Student Assembly to create a voting-veterans seat. He said, “The more seats the better. If you want to increase participation in the Student Assembly, then we need our veterans to be invested in the process.” He also argued that the proposed veterans representative could be an institutional resource, assisting student veterans with G.I. Bill funding, navigation of university bureaucracy, and providing another voice for the community.
But above all else, conference attendees wanted to see increased veteran representation on campus. Molina pointed out that student veteran enrollment at Cornell would have to increase significantly to meet the national average of student veterans enrolled in college (which was 6% as of 2015).
ILVC President Kaller Roemer also emphasized the importance of increasing student veteran representation on college campuses. Roemer told the Cornell Review that student veterans possess unique leadership and communication skills, which make them a valuable asset to the university environment. Quoting the Greek military historian Thucydides, Roemer argued that it would be a mistake to separate society’s warriors from its scholars.
University officials who attended the ILVC conference also expressed similar sentiments. In his remarks, Provost Kotlikoff emphasized the progress Cornell has made in creating a veterans community and building the Veterans Summer Bridge Program. Kotlikoff added that he believes that the student veteran population contributes significantly to higher education institutions.
During their presentation, student veterans adviser Mary Fisk and senior associate admissions director Kyle Downey outlined how Cornell University would increase its outreach to the veteran applicants. They said the university admissions team will be increasing visits to military installations and going to education fairs, among other initiatives. Fisk emphasized that student veterans had to be actively involved in this recruiting process as well.
The ILVC conference highlighted gains made through student veteran advocacy. But despite this progress, many of those interviewed by the Cornell Review agree that there is still more work that lies ahead.
