Rutgers Student-Vets Honor Fallen Classmate

Over the weekend, the student-veterans from Rutgers University in New Jersey hosted a benefit run to honor their fallen comrade, Marine Lance Cpl. Jeremy Kane. More than 150 people--including veterans, civilians, campus leaders and local civic leaders--braved the rainy weather to honor the fallen Marine.

Kane, a student at Rutgers Camden who was enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve, was killed while serving in Afghanistan when his team was hit by a suicide bomber in the Helmand Province last January.

Kane was an active member of the student-veterans' group at Rutgers, Veterans For Education, which was featured in the fall 2008 issue of American Veteran magazine discussing veterans' transition issues on college campuses.

Veterans For Education organized Sunday's 2-mile, in-cadence, military-style run raising more than $8,500 for a memorial at Rutgers honoring the school's fallen heroes.

“It was nice to be out there running in the rain again calling cadence,” said Bryan Adams, president of Veterans For Education. “We brought together several communities in a positive display of respect.”

The run started at Kane's high school, Cherry Hill High School East, and wound through his home town, ending at Congregation M'kor Shalom, where Kane and his family worshiped. Rep. John Adler (D-N.J.), who serves on the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, joined his local student-veterans to pay his respects to Kane.

Last night, Veterans For Education and the Chancellor's office at Rutgers honored Kane and his family by presenting a posthumous degree and a memorial plaque dedicated to Kane, which will be on display at Rutgers Camden.

Since Kane made the ultimate sacrifice, Veterans For Education has also renamed its annual veterans' scholarship in their fallen classmate's honor.

To read more about the Jeremy Kane Benefit Run from the South Jersey Courier-Post, Click Here.

(Photos: Top: Veterans For Education pose for a photo at Cherry Hill High School East prior to the Jeremy Kane Benefit Run. Middle: Marine Corps veterans participating in Sunday's run gather in formation prior to the start. Bottom: Hundreds of supporters gather at Cherry Hill High School East to honor Jeremy Kane on Sunday. Photos courtesy of Bryan Adams and Veterans For Education.)

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due...

This morning, AMVETS Legislative Aide Christina Roof came across a Rutgers University press release published on an online veterans' forum, which highlighted the university's efforts to support New Jersey student-veterans.

Here is the official release.

Unfortunately, the release seems to take credit for the hard work of Rutgers' student-veterans who have fought tooth-and-nail for every inkling of support that the university and Rutgers President Richard McCormick now seem eager to offer.

“As the State University of New Jersey, we want to make sure that we are ready to assist these men and women who so honorably served our nation,” said President Richard L. McCormick.

Oh really? Over the last two years student-veterans at the Rutgers-Camden campus have put in all of the leg work to convince the university that its student-veterans were being treated inequitably.

Veterans For Education, which American Veteran has highlighted on multiple occasions, built up support within the student body and within the community, ultimately forcing President McCormick's hand on veterans' issues. All along the way, V4E faced active resistance from campus administration until they had mustered enough grassroots support to facilitate change. Now the university cannot give credit where credit is due.

V4E and its leaders John Cosby, William Brown, and Bryan Adams, have worked tirelessly with state and federal legislators to allow New Jersey's state colleges and universities to accept military credits as Servicemembers' Opportunity Colleges.

Only after an exhaustive public awareness campaign and letters from legislators at all levels of government did Rutgers and President McCormick decide to act.

Fortunately, news sources such as the Philadelphia Inquirer and the New Jersey Star-Ledger have acknowledged the hard work of V4E in pushing for Rutgers' support to its veterans.

Thankfully, the climate for American student-veterans seems to be improving thanks to the hard work of veterans such as V4E and hundreds of Student Veterans of America (SVA) groups across the country.

Students are also starting to receive the administrative and faculty support that they will need to succeed thanks to the hard work of educators like John Schupp, the founder of Cleveland State's SERV program, which AMVETS and SVA proudly support.

AMVETS and American Veteran will continue to follow the developments of student-veterans' services at college campuses nationwide to ensure that veterans transition smoothly into campus life.

(Photo: V4E student-veterans from Rutgers Camden discuss Servicemembers Opportunity College credits with New Jersey Governor John Corzine. Photo courtesy of Veterans For Education.)

Magazine Update: Veterans For Education

In the fall issue of American Veteran magazine, we explored the challenges facing veterans returning to college. In the story, we profiled the student-veterans' group, Veterans For Education (V4E), at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Since last meeting with the students at Rutgers, V4E has continued to work tirelessly to improve the perception of veterans on their own campuses and at schools across New Jersey.

William Brown, a former Navy SEAL who helped to establish the group alongside Army veteran John Cosby, continues to work with newly-appointed New Jersey Congressman John Adler on the Congressman's veterans' advisory board. Leading up to the election, Brown and his V4E colleagues hosted a congressional debate between Adler and challenger Chris Meyers. V4E's work keeping tabs on both Adler and Meyers leading up to Nov. 4, inspired Adler to seek counsel from V4E on veterans' issues once in office.

Brown has also developed an ambitious idea to run across Iraq from Kirkuk to Basra as a sign of good will and to raise funds for Iraqi charities. Brown's idea has been highlighted by a variety of major media outlets, including the New York Daily News and the Boston Globe. AMVETS has offered support to Brown in his efforts to make this run a reality within the coming year.

The current president of V4E, Bryan Adams, a former Army sniper who was wounded in Iraq, has gained significant notoriety in his own right over the last six months through his work with Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). In the fall, IAVA enlisted Adams' help as its new national spokesman. Adams is featured along with IAVA's director of government affairs, Todd Bowers, in the new Ad Council public service announcement, "Alone." The PSA, which can be viewed below, recently won the 2009 New York ADDY award. Adams is currently also in the running for student body president at Rutgers Camden.



Through the leadership of Brown, Adams, and Cosby; and with the support of the Student Veterans of American (SVA), the veterans at Rutgers have become vocal authorities on student-veterans' issues across New Jersey. V4E has been working for months with the New Jersey Legislature to pass legislation authorizing state colleges and universities to accept college credits from military transcripts, as part of the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges program. The group is also pushing through legislation that would authorize the state's office of veterans' affairs to assign veterans' assistance officers to college campuses across New Jersey; a story that has been featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer and syndicated on Military.com.

Unfortunately, V4E continues to face challenges within their own student body. Recently, an Army Major visited Rutgers Camden School of Law to inform students about opportunities with the Army JAG Corps. The officer was greeted with offensive signs put in place by a Rutgers student disparaging the honorable service of our men and women in uniform as a method of protesting the controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Not only were the signs misdirected toward service members, but they also contained racially-charged remarks, out of the context from the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" debate. One military student enrolled in the law school, Vivek Sahani, took offense to the signs and sought to take action with campus officials.

Thanks to Sahani's efforts, the campus is reviewing the actions of the student responsible for placing the signs. Similar protests have taken place on college campuses nationwide, leaving many veterans feeling unwelcome in academia; victims of a debate on controversial policies over which they have no control. Check back with American Veteran to follow this story's developments. In the meantime, let us know your thoughts on the issue, or if you have had similar experiences on college campuses near you.

(Photo: Veterans For Education members last fall at Rutgers Camden, photo by Ryan Gallucci. Video: IAVA's "Alone" public service announcement featuring Bryan Adams, used with permission from IAVA.)