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Section: Blogs/Opinion

Getting Down to Business

Attention: Our 20 million veterans represent 9 percent of the total U.S. population. There are 2.5 million veteran-owned businesses in the U.S. that contribute $195 billion in annual payroll and account for $1.1 trillion in annual receipts. According to the study that produced those statistics, veterans have launched businesses at higher rates than non-veterans for […]

January 2, 2018

Elitists and Crybabies

Frank Antenori shot the head off a rattlesnake at his back door last summer — a deadeye pistol blast from 20 feet. No college professor taught him that. The U.S. Army trained him, as a marksman and a medic, on the “two-way rifle range” of Afghanistan and Iraq. Useful skills. Smart return on taxpayers’ investment. […]

December 21, 2017

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Protesting ROTC

Should you have a liking for antiwar agitators who dizzyingly stay on message, protest after protest and arrest after arrest, you might sign on with Bob Graf. The Milwaukee-based former Jesuit scholastic who has close ties to the Catholic Worker, was and is the organizing force behind a national campaign to rid the Reserve Officers […]

December 19, 2017

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What Next?

Why are you serving in uniform? Think back to the day when you signed on the dotted line and left home to serve your country. Some of us did it to start a career and get an education. Maybe you were following in your mom or dad’s footsteps or you always wanted to serve for […]

December 15, 2017

Whitening Academia

While a House Republican proposal to tax the tuition waivers of graduate students may not be among the highest-profile Trump-era assaults on people of color, it represents a serious threat to racial equality. If included in the final tax plan, it would disproportionately harm nonwhite graduate students and be disastrous for the already dismal diversity […]

December 14, 2017

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Killing the Future

We are witnessing the death of the information age. There is a continued assault on education from this administration and its cronies. Efforts to privatize and silo education, tax graduate students for their education benefits, and the looming threat of net neutrality reversal, all seem to take aim at learners, benefiting the pockets of some […]

December 12, 2017

Fund Higher Ed

Congress is poised to give the HEA a much-needed update. The House of Representatives have introduced legislation and discussions are picking up in the Senate, but questions remain as to the scope and timing for completing action. The Higher Education Act (HEA), the foundation law for the financing of American higher education, was enacted in […]

December 8, 2017

Deceiving Students

At this week’s Department of Education ongoing public meeting to advance Betsy DeVos’s plan to repeal and replace the Obama rules on for-profit colleges, owners and executives of those institutions repeat familiar themes, both during formal sessions and in hallway conversations. Faced with evidence that many for-profit college students end up dropping out, or graduating […]

December 7, 2017

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The End of Grad School

As 2017 winds down, United States politicians have turned their attention to long-promised tax reform. In the early morning hours of Saturday, Dec. 2, the Senate passed the GOP-proposed tax reform bill with a 51-49 vote. The bill received nearly unanimous Republican support, and zero Democratic support. People from all sides of the political spectrum […]

December 5, 2017

90/10 Loophole

To exploit students (and taxpayers), for-profit colleges can first exploit veterans. This article is not about how for-profit schools exploit veterans, although that is certainly part of the problem. This article is about why. And, why you, as an American taxpayer, should care. You see, veterans are merely the first step in a two-step game […]

December 1, 2017

“Reverse GI Bill”

In June of 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law the GI Bill, a bipartisan effort spearheaded by the American Legion to provide benefits for returning veterans. By 1956, 7.8 million vets had used the GI Bill for their education. In many ways, this legislation became the engine of economic growth in post-war America. It […]

November 30, 2017

Exploiting Veterans

Despite efforts by Congress, the Obama administration and state attorneys general to stop the predatory practices of for-profit colleges, veterans and service members who rely on funding from the G.I. bill and the Defense Department to attend school are still being targeted by an industry infamous for saddling people with debt and useless degrees. A […]

November 28, 2017

Cutting Aviation Benefit

Members of Congress like to use the term “heroes” on a routine basis when describing veterans. So it is shocking to discover that behind the scenes some members of the House Veterans Committee are seeking to significantly cut assistance for veterans pursuing valuable careers in commercial aviation. Currently, there are thousands of veterans enrolled in […]

November 22, 2017

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Jobless Stats

Month after month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that U.S. veterans are doing better than non-veterans in the job market. In October, the BLS indicated that veteran unemployment was just 2.7%, compared to 3.8% for non-vets. However, these figures paint an incomplete picture of what’s really going on. As executive director of […]

November 17, 2017

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Disrupt Higher Education

Yes, things are changing rapidly in higher education, and they need to. The evidence is as close as Sedgwick County, where Wichita Area Technical College and Wichita State University have received final approval for a historic affiliation. The resulting evolution of WATC into the WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology helps Wichita State grow […]

November 16, 2017

‘Thanks, America’

This is a thank-you letter to the citizens of the United States. In October 1971, by orders of President Nixon, I was drafted into the U.S. Army. The letter said, “Greetings from the President of the United States,” and told me where and when to report. I took the following oath: “I, Jack Snyder, do […]

November 14, 2017

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‘We Need You’

I recently had the privilege of firing the starting pistol and greeting runners at the finish line of the 42nd annual Marine Corps Marathon. Over 40,000 people participated in the 10k and marathon. Those running, wheeling, and walking in this race all participated with purpose. Team Kelly, Team Semper Fi, and Team Fisher House were […]

November 10, 2017

Finding a Job

QUESTION: I was in the military for over 20 years and recently returned to Brevard after receiving an honorable discharge. I don’t have many transferable skills. I obtained my associate’s degree before signing-up and the only civilian jobs I had were waiting on tables and working at a gas station. Do I need to go […]

November 9, 2017