Above: Some of the veterans accessing the new services and space at Veteran’s Resource Center
Story//Vivian Chen ‘20
During Fall Quarter 2019, the Veterans Resource Center (VRC), founded by student-veterans in 2012, relocated to an adjacent space that has almost double the square footage.
Coby Dillard, Coordinator of Veterans and Military Services
The Center used to be a lounge and study space where advisers would stop by during peak times, such as when students are registering for classes. Following the expansion, VRC will have a separate study space and lounge as well as weekly advising. “It’s really about having that one-stop area where you can come in, whether you’re a veteran, National Guard… We’re able to take care of that entire group basically from this location with whatever they may need,” said Coby Dillard, Coordinator of Veterans and Military Services here at UC Santa Barbara.
According to Dillard, research has shown that having a central location for student-veterans helps them perform better academically. Additionally, many student-veterans are transfer students, and having a central point of contact eases their transition into a 4-year-university.
With its increased size, VRC can expand its services to include more individuals as well. This year, one of the focuses for the Center is to broaden the definition of “military-related student” to include reservists, dependents and other subgroups.
“Yes, military-related students include veterans,” Dillard says, “but it also includes military reservists, who could be in classes one day, go to their drill over the weekend, and be told, ‘Hey, you’re leaving on deployment.’ Or military dependents, who have grown up in these military homes and can still have parents who are on active duty, still dealing with the stresses of deployment… This entire population is more than just this subset of student-veterans.”
As a matter of fact, UCSB has more dependents than student-veterans. Even though they are not on duty, they are still affected by the realities of being in the military, which is why Dillard believes it’s important to include these groups at the VRC.
Furthermore, while student-veterans are overwhelmingly white, Dillard mentioned that there is a wide range of diversity within the population. “My youngest student is 17, my oldest is 81!” Dillard exclaimed. “I’ve got an entire group here and it’s getting the campus to realize regardless of what they look like, there’s more to this particular group than just their racial makeup. There’s more that they bring to this campus.”
Since the VRC has been renovated, there are a lot more possibilities as to what can be done. In the future, the Center hopes to build on successful past events, such as the Memorial Day flag garden, and create new programs to help raise awareness. The goal, ultimately, is to get the campus to become more informed about its military population, and, more importantly, have people recognize the diversity within the group.
The process has been difficult, but the results proved it worthwhile. “The first year had its frustrating moments,” Dillard said. “But even from last year to this one, it’s been completely different. And it’s been different for the better, even for for my students it’s been better.”