Grad News Forum

Dartmouth Graduate Studies is a proud supporter of the Dartmouth Graduate Veterans Association’s Veterans Day Banquet, which will take place on Friday night. The Graduate Forum has highlighted the group’s commitment to community service and veterans affairs. This article comes to us from the Dartmouth Now. 

In recognition of Veterans Day on November 11, Dartmouth is hosting a slate of lectures, ceremonies, and celebrations to honor military service members over the next week. Among the events are a formal flag retreat ceremony on the Green and a Veterans Day Remembrance Breakfast, which features noted speakers and guests.

Graduate Veterans Rob Sedgley (L) and Michael Rodriquez (R) with Senator Jeanne Shaheen, from New Hampshire.

In the middle of July, three members of the Dartmouth Graduate Veterans Association traveled to Washington D.C., to attend the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s (USGLC) “Impact 2012 Symposium.” As the only student representatives from the Ivy League, this small contingent of graduate veterans had the chance to interact with powerful players from government and politics, the national news media, and national non-profit groups.

The USGLC advocates for a consistent expansion of the U.S. diplomacy toolbox. At the core of its mission are the three D’s; diplomacy, development, and defense.  Preaching the importance of “Smart Power,” the group recognizes that America’s best tools to build a safe world are strengthening its humanitarian commitment and building economic prosperity in developing nations.

Veterans have an important position in the USGLC’s mission. As former soldiers, they have a intricate understanding of the ramifications of state instability, as well as a first-hand knowledge of the power of diplomacy and “smart power.” Veterans Ron Bucca, Mike Rodriguez, and Rob Sedgely traveled to the conference in hopes of learning more about the state of international affairs – they came away realizing they had a lot to give to the effort.

 “Veterans are credible messengers,” said Brendan Flynn a Coast Guard Academy Graduate and Military Outreach Coordinator for the USGLC , during the Vets for Smart Power evening dinner. The USGLC values veterans, who know first-hand about the importance of maintaining a strong military, and are also aware that the military cannot face alone the problems abroad. 

On the main day of the conference, the veterans attended a breakfast presentation on microfinance institutions and the crucial role they play in the movement and accessing of capital in developing regions. After breakfast, the group went to the State Department and listened to Tom Nides, Deputy Secretary of State speak on the importance of the foreign aid budget. Nides explained the importance of reaching out for positive change, saying, “This [foreign aid] is the best money that can spent for our national security.” Afterwards, they split up to attend different luncheons, on issues ranging from enhancing public-private partnerships to global commerce and the Millennium Challenge Corporation. When the luncheons were over, the vets took the floor of the exposition, where NGOs and government organizations displayed their newest diplomatic technology; from medical devices to microfinance projects, the exposition highlighted the ever-expanding toolbox of American diplomacy.

After the exposition, the veterans attended a series of talks by diplomatic leaders – speakers like NPR’s Cokie Roberts, Senator John Kerry, and Ed Gillespie and Terry McAuliffe, the chairmen of the Republican and Democratic National Committees, respectively. These speakers, among others, emphasized the need for the expansion of the foreign affairs budget, and cited the huge misconceptions among the American public about how much we spend on development missions (the actual foreign affairs budget typically hovers around 1% of all federal spending). Diplomacy and development, they argued, leads to a defensible America, and an American that is fulfilling its role as a world leader.

Bucca, Rodriguez and Sedgley also had the opportunity to meet with Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, as well as Congressman Charlie Bass, who represents New Hampshire’s second district (which includes Hanover). The conversation focused on the importance of the foreign aid budget and the role of defense, development, and diplomacy in national security. All of the congressman and senators were receptive to the message, and appreciative of the service and achievement of Dartmouth’s Veterans. 

On the day after the conference, two of the veterans traveled to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, to visit with injured soldiers and to spread the word about Dartmouth’s unique relationship with veterans. “It’s a good place to go to get some perspective on life,” said Bucca, who himself served for ten years with the Army. “It’s inspiring to see how positive they’re and forward looking. ”

The GVA attended the Impact 2012 Symposium on their own initiative – they are an apolitical group, but support activism and involvement in national affairs. The GVA aims to unite, mobilize, advocate, and help network for Veterans in the graduate studies programs at Dartmouth. This November, they will be hosting a dinner to raise awareness about veteran issues. For more information on the GVA and for more pictures from the conference, check out their website here.

by Zach Williams 

President Emeritus James Wright dedicated much of his energy to issues concerning veterans
returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Wright would be happy to know that his efforts to build a veteran presence on Dartmouth’s campus are still showing their effects.

Veterans enrolled in various programs throughout the graduate school are forming a Graduate Veterans Association (GVA), in an effort to engage the veteran presence in the graduate programs and to help give back to veterans and the larger Dartmouth community. The GVA aims to create a network among veterans enrolled in the college’s Arts and Sciences PhD, and master’s programs to engage a veteran community that does not have a representative body on campus.

Ron Bucca, a first-year graduate student, says that the core of the Association’s mission will be to “unite, mobilize, and advocate for veterans in the Graduate Studies programs.” Bucca, a US Army veteran, is hoping the group will facilitate easy contact with outside organizations, like the veterans’ affairs office in White River Junction.

Mike Rodriguez (USMC), another veteran working to get the GVA up and running, feels that the unique position and freedoms of graduate veterans gives them the opportunity to help the two other veterans associations on campus. The GVA will look to work alongside members of the Dartmouth Undergraduate Veterans Association and Tuck Armed Forces Alumni Association in providing campus vets with important information about veterans’ affairs. They’ll also facilitate, or participate in traditional ceremonies that recognize the sacrifices made by veterans of our generation and those past, like those held on Memorial Day.

The student veterans involved anticipate coordinating events, such as a Wounded Warriors Walk/Run, that will allow the Dartmouth community at large to recognize these sacrifices and help give back. But the group sees its role on campus as expanding beyond enriching veterans’ lives.

“Military issues are really important in the world right now, with the conflict in the Middle East and repercussions of that, and with the election coming up,” Bucca says. “People guess and assume about what we might feel as servicemen and women. Why not just ask us?”

Bucca notes that the early membership of the group represents a variety of military experiences and realities, and sees this as a well of knowledge that should be tapped by the Dartmouth academic community. He stressed that the Graduate Veterans Association will work hard to act as an information center for students looking to further understand or research military issues.

Rodriguez spoke about his participation in an oral history project a fellow graduate student was working on. He explained that this student, like most Dartmouth students, had to rely on word of mouth to find veterans on campus. “Through this association, we want to go to them,” he says.

As the conflicts in the Middle East and the affairs of our military branches increase in importance, especially as we near November, Dartmouth students will be making themselves aware of the nuances surrounding these issues. For a group of Graduate veterans to offer their time and insight to the Dartmouth community is both impressive and mindful.

For more information about the Dartmouth Graduate Veterans Association, please contact Ron Bucca (USA) or Mike Rodriguez (USMC).

by Zachary Williams