UK honors those who served

Anne Halliwell

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Veterans Day activities by the UK Veterans Resource Center will allow students with different life experiences to interact socially, said Jessica Shaffer, president of the UK Student Veterans Association.

“I think there are a lot of students on campus who aren’t really aware of our presence on campus as veterans,” Shaffer said.

The VRC will hold a ceremony and luncheon for veterans in the Buell Armory on Tuesday, Eva Hicks, associate department manager in the department of Military Science wrote in an email to the Kentucky Kernel.

Shaffer, an economics junior, said that VRC coordinator Anthony Dotson would speak at the event, as would student body president Jake Ingram.

After the speech at the Main Building, the event will move to the Buell Armory, where two kinds of chili will be provided from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“It gives (students) a chance to think about other groups on campus and gives them a chance to interact with people,” Shaffer said.

There are about 700 students on campus receiving GI Bill benefits, Shaffer said, which includes both student veterans and the dependents of veterans.

Shaffer served in the Army for about eight years, she said. After going back home to Pennsylvania, she said that her fiancee convinced her to come to UK after reading good things about the VRC in particular.

This year’s event was funded by a donation from UK Federal Credit Union, Shaffer added. The speeches, normally held at the flagpole, will also be held in conjunction with the president’s office for the first time.

Capt. Brian Smith, an assistant professor of military science in UK’s Army ROTC, said that the College of Nursing would hold a memorial service with military speakers at 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Members of the Army ROTC and the Air Force ROTC will attend.

Air Force ROTC also held a 29-mile run on Saturday from Administration Drive on campus to the Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Frankfort.

Another benefit to Veterans Day activities is that they allow student veterans to share a common experience, Shaffer said.

“(It gives) them the opportunity to interact with each other outside of the classroom and interact with each other in a way that is social, not academic,” Shaffer said.