Bill would aid families of fallen soldiers

Soon, immediate family members of deceased soldiers and disabled veterans hurt or killed since Sept. 11 will likely qualify for a tuition waiver at Oregon University System schools and Oregon Health and Sciences University.

Senate Bill 1066, introduced by Gov. Ted Kulongoski, has been approved by Oregon legislators and awaits the governor’s signature.

Jake Meeks, president of Portland State’s Student Veterans Association, estimates that perhaps five Portland State students will be able to benefit from the free school offer to both undergraduates and graduate school candidates, although he’s not sure of the exact number. Students going to school in-state and who are from outside of Oregon could also use the benefits.

“This is a beautiful thing,” Meeks, a 29-year-old graduate student, said of the bill. “It is a step in the right direction.”

Col. Earnest Smith, a professor of military studies at Portland State, agrees. Soldiers and their families, he said, need all the help they can get when adjusting back into everyday civilian life after facing the trauma of combat. He said most people don’t realize the scope of the impact on today’s soldiers and their families since 9/11.

“The situation faced by soldiers and their families, after returning from combat, is probably worse than Vietnam,” Smith said. The long-term effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder on soldiers and their loved ones, he said, needs to be taken seriously.

“We haven’t really taken this seriously yet,” Smith said, “and until we do, it is not going to improve at all.”

The Student Veterans Association keeps in touch with about 300 people through regular e-mail, and the group has between 25 and 30 participating members, Meeks said. If the governor passes the legislation, he said, he’d help spread the word by using that e-mail list.

“I’m sure there are people out there,” he said, “but it must be a pretty small group.”

To locate that group, Meeks hopes the governor will send out notices so that students can take advantage of the offer.

To qualify, the student must be a surviving spouse or child of a deceased or completely disabled soldier, must meet state requirements to receive in-state tuition, and must be pursuing a degree.

OUS estimates that 14 to 18 students would use these benefits statewide, and they could use the refund only for classes that had space available.

Rem Nivens, deputy communications director for the governor, said the bill is sure to be signed by the governor, and now the “details need to be hammered out.”

“The governor wanted to recognize the sacrifice that soldiers and their families are making,” Nivens said, adding that over the years an increasing number of students may take advantage of the tuition waiver.