The Student Veterans of UNM are involved in a number of 'behind the scenes' advocacy initiatives. Here are the most current ones:

UNM OBSERVANCE OF VETERANS DAY
5 USC 6103 - Sect. 6103 states that November 11th shall be a federal holiday in observance of Veterans Day.
However, the University of New Mexico does not observe this day in recognition of the sacrifices and dedication exhibited by our nations' heroes. The Student Veterans of UNM find this to be a large mistake on the university's behalf and are working diligently to lobby the administration for a quick and precise change to the academic calendar to correct this problem.

UPDATES: ASUNM and GPSA have both passed resolutions in full support of the official observance of Veterans Day at UNM!!!
Right now, the issue is being prepared for review by the Faculty/Staff Benefits Committee, which is a joint committe of the Faculty Senate and Staff Council. The findings from this committee will be used as recommendations for the Faculty Senate to put forward a revised Academic Calendar for the Regents to review.

As always, please check here for the most up-to-date information!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REOLUTION OF SUPPORT APPROVED BY GPSA ON AUGUST 29, 2009

--- ASUNM RESOLUTION TO BE POSTED SOON ---

VA "YELLOW RIBBON" PROGRAM
The Post-9/11 GI Bill has brought a new awakening to the Veterans of our nation. Institutions from across the country are recording record numbers of Veterans enrolling into classes who are eager to gain the knowledge, skills, and abilities to enter our workforce as a competitive employee or entrepreneur. Thousands of these institutes have also taken the initiative to participate in the VA "Yellow Ribbon" Program, which allows them to grant scholarships to Veterans in the instance that the tuition and fees owed exceeds the highest level of undergraduate in-state tuition. For the University of New Mexico, this means that graduate student Veterans would be fully funded for their tuition and fees. Which, in turn, will further prepare our future leaders to excel in the workforce.

Admittedly, UNM has agreed to participate in this program. However, the university has only agreed to fund 10 graduate students per year, not including the colleges of Law, Management, or Pharmacy. The Student Veterans of UNM find this to be unacceptable as the average number of Veteran graduate students using GI Bill benefits each semester is between 30-45. Also, the scholarships are for only 10 Veterans per semester. This means that once a scholarship is granted, that is one less scholarship available for others until that Veteran graduates, which averages 2-7 years, depending on the program. The Student Veterans of UNM have approached President Schmidly on this matter and we have been assured that UNM will work towards full inclusion of the program university wide with a more acceptable number of scholarships available in total. We will keep a close eye on the proceedings as we approach the next fiscal year and we will keep you informed of our findings.