On Nov. 10, the grand opening of the new student veteran lounge and office on the 9th floor of Sawyer celebrated and honored its fellow student veterans. President of the Suffolk Undergraduate Student Veterans Organization, Dwayne Smith, and John Silveria, Associate Dean of Students, coordinated the event, which was intentionally celebrated on the birthday of the United States Marine Corps. The development of a student veteran lounge at Suffolk had been in planning since September of 2015 by Smith, Paul Mucci (Vice President of the Student Veterans Organization), and their advisor Dean Silveria.
“We saw a void in the school and wanted to fill that void,” said Smith in an interview with The Suffolk Journal on Thursday. “We wanted to offer the student veterans a place where they can come down and just decompress, be themselves, relax, study and communicate with each other.”
Before Sawyer was renovated for fall 2016, the Suffolk Undergraduate Student Veterans Organization had a makeshift space in 73 Tremont. This year, three offices opened on the 9th floor of Sawyer and one of these spaces became available for a student veteran lounge.
Mucci transferred from Niagara University, in New York, and was thoroughly a part of a student veterans lounge that was effective in making him feel included within the university.
“It’s definitely a huge improvement since last year,” said senior government major and United States Army veteran Mucci in an interview with The Suffolk Journal on Thursday. “When I got here last year, there wasn’t really anything or anybody to talk to.”
Through wanting to foster that same experience for student veterans at Suffolk, he said, “A lot that I learned from that veterans organizations I brought here.”
Smith and Mucci both see the space allowing Suffolk student veterans to establish a tight-knit camaraderie, a quiet place to get away from traditional students at Suffolk and feel accepted.
“It’s kind of therapeutic”, said Mucci. “You’re in class with a bunch of traditional students, sometimes you get frustrated and annoyed and you don’t really know why because you’ve been through a bunch of stuff overseas. You’re listening to someone complain about something that doesn’t really matter, and then you come in here and vent to fellow veterans.”
Sophomore applied legal studies major and U. S. Marine Corps veteran Smith said he admires the sense of companionship that is provided through this new space.
“You’re going to school and you have this space where you can just become yourself and you put down all your walls and you won’t get judged by that,” said Smith.
Sophomore broadcast journalism major and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Ryan Emma transferred to Suffolk this year and sought out the student veterans organization.
“I moved here from North Carolina and it was hard for me,” said Emma. “It’s been hard making friends at this school, but the student veterans organization basically thrusted me into a friend group and everyone’s been really cool.”
Smith remarked that the transition back into society can be difficult and you don’t feel like your normal self because of different experiences faced in service.
“It’s a nice space, it’s our own space, it’s good to be recognized because not a lot of schools do this for veterans,” said senior marketing major and U.S. Army veteran Fritz Bartheleny.
Bartheleny recollected on how Suffolk supported their veterans last year and he said that he sees a big improvement. Before, there were no meetings, there was no space, and they didn’t know all of the veterans at Suffolk. Bartheleny is appreciative that Suffolk has given its student veterans a better space to connect with one another because he recognizes the tough transition of student veterans to college life within his classes.
“You’re sitting with kids [in class] that just came out of high school,” said Bartheleny. “But these guys have been out of high school for years and now they’re back in so we’re considered the old guys in class.”
Among this frustration, Bartheleny said that Suffolk still makes student veterans feel included.
“It is nice to be included especially with the stigmas that are out there about veterans,” said Bartheleny. “Suffolk tries to include us as normal students as best as they can. We’re not treated like the redheaded stepchild of the organizations, we’re treated the same way as any other organization, so kudos to Suffolk.”
Bartheleny also admires the financial understanding of Suffolk. Suffolk acknowledges student veteran financial circumstances and this allows for student veterans to register for classes before issuing their payment.
Bartheleny said, “I’ve never had an issue with finances. I can have like a $24,000 bill that hasn’t been paid for yet and they still let me register for classes.”
During the entire month of November, in honor of veterans day, Suffolk had dedicated its Mildred Sawyer Library display case to the military memorabilia of their fellow student veterans. Through Suffolk commemorating the service of student veterans within their display case as well as gifting them a space, Smith, along with other student veterans feel nothing but esteem from Suffolk.
“I feel honored and supported by and through Suffolk because actions speak louder than words,” said Smith. “We’ve been waiting for this day to come and it actually has come.”
Suffolk has acquired a complimentary feature in making veterans known on campus and now student veterans, like Smith, feel that they “we will never be forgotten in this establishment,” said Smith. The lounge on the 9th floor of Sawyer will always be there for veterans.
“When we graduate a lounge for veterans will always be here and that’s what all of us put in together to make this happen,” said Smith.
As Acting President Marisa J. Kelly said in her blog on Nov. 10, “We are grateful to and proud of our more than 150 veteran and active military students here at Suffolk, as well as all members of the Suffolk community who are veterans. To all of our veterans at Suffolk and across the United States, thank you for your service.”
