A blue and gold float carrying a group of Columbia student veterans rolled down Fifth Avenue Thursday afternoon—marking the second year the School of General Studies sponsored a float in the New York City Veterans Day Parade.
Roughly 30 students—with signs reading “MILVETS ON BOARD” and “Thank you for serving”—marched in the 91st parade, bringing GS back to its roots.
GS, which enrolls nontraditional students, was founded largely as a result of the post-World War II G.I. Bill. Now, over 150 veterans are enrolled at GS, with roughly 300 veterans enrolled in the University at large.
“With the large number of veterans and with our historical connections, it made sense for GS to participate in the way that we have, which is really to honor the veteran students we have enrolled here through our sponsorship of the float in the parade,” GS Dean of Enrollment Management Curtis Rogers said.
Starting at 28th Street and continuing up Fifth Avenue to 56th Street, spectators applauded and waved American flags from the sidewalks.
“There were a lot of people on the streets cheering, thanking us for our service,” Ester Nyaggah, GS, said. “It felt good to be appreciated—you know, not having somebody say, ‘I can’t believe you supported this war.’ It was an incredible experience.”
With Columbia’s participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program, a provision of the post-9/11 G.I. Bill implemented last fall, the number of veterans on campus rose sharply. In the 2008-2009 school year, only about 60 veterans were enrolled at GS, Rogers said.
“The School of General Studies was a school established partly for veterans. It’s very nice to see that legacy being revived,” Rory Minnis, GS, said.
Participants said that the increasing number of veterans on campus has created a sense of community in Morningside Heights.
“I feel that we are a very special group,” said Marco Reininger, GS, president of the U.S. Military Veterans of Columbia University. “We all served, we have served in the past, and we are dedicated to public service. But now we are at an elite university where we are provided with the tools and the education to become leaders in the future.”
Despite Columbia’s ban on the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps—with the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy at the heart of the campus debate—some student veterans said they don’t feel an anti-military sentiment.
“I don’t need to see the ROTC program come back in order to prove to me that the Columbia community welcomes veterans and is proud to have veterans,” Minnis said. “The treatment and the respect that I’ve gotten on campus is enough to prove that to me.”
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