Image 6 of Kentucky alumnus, vol. 04, no. 44, 1974

l 1 Gl B°ll L l Goes to School l ` 3 - l L I I al i By Mark T. Watson Under Public Law 346 of the 78th Congress, Title II, 1943, veterans were first authorized educational benefits T ’ from the government. This initial grant was provided be- T Ed. Nom A Senate bm to msc the vcmmnk educ? cause Congress felt persons in the military had their educa- i mma] anowance from $220 to $2-,0 pe, month was tion or training delayed or interrupted when they entered ; ordered out of committee in May for consideration the service. i Md *35 D¤S$¤d i¤ l¤¤¢· A similar m¢¤S¤f¢ WQS passed The benefits the World War ll era veterans received were i" tl‘° H°“” °f R°P"°’°"mi"°$· At P'°“ *i'"°g “ tuition, laboratow, library, health, infirmary and other . ( °°mpr°misF of the two vcrSi°"$ of the bm was bcmg similar fees as well as books, supplies, equipment, and other made by a yoint committee. _ necessary expenses. Above these costs there was a subsis- tence allowance. The single veteran received $50 per month and a married veteran received $75. Without an additional income source it is extremely The Viet Nam era veteran does receive more than his difficult for veterans attending the University of Kentucky, World War ll counterpart in a sense, but he must pay for all or any university, under the Gl Bill to make ends meet. The his expenses incurred during each semester. director of the Veteran’s Affairs Office, Linda Anderson, Asked the frequency of veteran dropouts due to finan- reveals that over 90 percent of UK’s veterans hold full or cial problems, Linda Anderson remarks, "Ul< doesn’t go part-time jobs to supplement benefits received from the Gl along with the national trend, we don’t have a great many Bill. "Let’s be realistic," Anderson says, "the benefits won’t that do. A number of vets tell me how rough it is finan- cover both school and living expenses ..... there should be cially, but most vets get a job or have wives working to T more benefits available to the veteran." supplement their income." Anderson also pointed out that Unmarried veterans receive $220 per month, while mar- the national average for veterans dropping out of school ried vets receive $261 when they attend school on a full- was rising, and that money was the chief cause. i time basis. A married veteran with one child receives $298 The VAO provides many services to the veteran. "We try 1 per month and an extra $18 is allowed for each additional to take up where the Veterans Administration leaves off in i child. Payments for less than full time is broken down into terms of disseminating information to veterans and provid- i thrce—fourths time, one-half time and less than one-half ing assistance when and where we can. This information ` time with entitlements reduced accordingly. dissemination is not restricted to students, but to new The monthly entitlement is all the veteran receives. veterans who are not enrolled in school as well. You’d be From this amount, the veteran must pay tuition, books, surprised at the number of veterans that don’t know of rent, and food as well as other expenses incurred during the their right to educational benefits. Many think there are semester. hidden catches or other nonsense; thus preventing them lames Wyatt, a two-year Army veteran, is a graduate from taking advantage of their benefits." assistant in the English Department. Like many other veter- "No matter what the problem might be, we urge all ans, Wyatt feels the payments from the Gl Bill are inade- veterans to come and see us. ln most cases we’ll be able to quate in meeting todays school expenses. "l simply help them," promises Anderson. couldn’t make it through school if l didn’t work ..... it’sjust New programs recently inaugurated provide veterans not enough at all!" with additional aid. VA now allows an additional $50 per 4 l