Something you can do to help our military

There’s a chance for every one of us to do something tomorrow for the men and women who defend our freedoms. But first a little background.

You may have read about the returning serviceman in Texas. A state community college there denied him the reduced in-state tuition rate. The university decided he was no longer a Texas resident. He had spent too much time living in Iraq (Two tours of duty with the Marines).

Well, thanks in part to the Fort Worth Star Telegram and other news organizations shining a little light on things, the college decided the former Marine was a resident of Texas after all.

Now, Betsy Newmark, guest blogging at Michelle Malkin, posts concerning the extraordinary problems a university student experienced at his school when his National Guard unit was called to active duty, first in New York City after 9/11 and later in Iraq.

The problems were not unlike what many experience in higher ed (Profs who don’t respond to messages, administrators with an “I’ll find a rule to make this harder” attitude, etc.). But in this case, they were shameful because they were so obviously hurting a student/soldier serving his country.

Example, the soldier got knocked for not having a small check in to the bursar's office by a certain date. Why not? He was in transit to Iraq at the time, and his duffle with checkbook was on a ship he could not reach. Not good enough for us, the bursar's office declared.

A little common sense? Even some gratitude, maybe?

Things eventually worked out, but not before the university president got involved.

The student/soldier seems to have no bitterness toward his university. In fact, he’s offered a constructive suggestion: Assign a kind of ombudsman to advocate for students with military backgrounds.

Betsy likes that idea. I’ll bet most of us do too.

Now here’s something we all can do.

Tomorrow morning call or e-mail the office of a top administrator at a university or college to ask what the school is doing to take care of the special needs of the people who defend this country?

Is there an administrator assigned to do that?

As the academic year begins, what's being done? Is more planned? Has a memo been sent to all administrators and faculty reminding them of how the school treats students whose military service may create special needs?

You get the idea.

Tomorrow, I plan to call the office of the President of the University of North Carolina system, Molly Broad.

I’ll post on what happens. Let me know what you experience. I'll include at least some of your comments in a post.

If you make the call or send the e-mail, tomorrow evening when you put your head on the pillow you’ll be able to say, “Today I did a good thing for our great military people in Iraq and all over the globe.”