Syracuse (WSYR-TV) – As young veterans return from service, local colleges and universities are seeing an increase in the number of vets enrolled in schools.
Local schools report a significant increase in the number of student vets, thanks in part to the new GI bill which went into full effect this fall. The bill offers education benefits for veterans.
Wednesday, Syracuse University will open a new Veterans Resource Center for the students. It will be located inside the University College building on campus. Syracuse University has 121 student veterans.
Onondaga Community College leads the local area, with the number of enrolled veterans at around 250, Oswego State has 129 veterans attending school, Le Moyne College counts 37 vets and veteran dependents, and Morrisville State College has roughly 75.
With so many new veterans leaving the service and enrolling in college comes the need for universities to have the resources for them. Some schools like OCC and Le Moyne have well-developed programs. Syracuse’s resource center will open as a place for students to be around other soldiers who know what they've been through and a place for them to find help through the VA for issues like post traumatic stress disorder. The center will also offer information on the new GI bill benefits and act as a comfortable place for student veterans.
“The main drive and the goal here is that we're going to help vets,” said Frank Alagna, an Army veteran and Pre-Law Senior at SU. “I know when I got out of the service, I went from active duty to school. It was hard, that transition.”
