On November 11, 2008, William Treseder, a transfer student and a Marine reservist who had just finished a tour in Iraq, was surprised at the silence on Stanford's campus. There was no indication that it was Veterans Day. Troubled by this, Treseder wrote an op-ed for the Stanford Daily—and then emailed it to President John Hennessy. That move sparked what would become a five-year dialogue between the two on how to improve Stanford's relationship with its military-affiliated students.
Certain facets of Stanford's history—an antiwar protest in 1968 that led to the burning of the ROTC building, and, later, the banning of ROTC from campus—might give the impression of a wide civil-military divide. But this perception of Stanford as a hostile environment couldn't be farther from the truth, says Treseder, who transferred from West Valley College, in Saratoga, Calif. "The feeling was not 'Stanford doesn't want to support veterans,'" he says. "It was 'Stanford doesn't know where to start.'"
Treseder's conversation with President Hennessy led to the launch of Stanford 2 to 4, an academic accelerator for veterans in community college who plan to transfer to a competitive four-year college. The eight-week scholarship program covers tuition, a $400 book stipend, a dining plan and lodging during Stanford's Summer Session. Students will take two courses—one in writing and rhetoric, and another based on their focus and selected with the help of Jess Matthews, 2 to 4's co-founder and the associate dean and director of summer session.
Treseder notes that Stanford 2 to 4 is not a charity program: "It's not who needs the help; it's who needs the challenge," he says. Matthews agrees. "If you go straight from high school to an elite four-year . . . that's part of your narrative: 'You're going to a great four-year school—here's how you put together an application; here's how you're going to be successful.' That's not what [these veterans] have heard," she says.
California is home to an estimated 2 million veterans and serves a quarter of the United States' community college population. Stanford 2 to 4's co-founders say Stanford's high-touch academic and social services, along with its location, make it the perfect place for such an academic accelerator. The program has garnered a support corps on campus, including Charles Junkerman, associate provost and dean of continuing studies and summer session; professors Deborah Gordon and David M. Kennedy; Hoover Institute fellow Larry Diamond; professor, novelist and Vietnam veteran Tobias Wolff; Jeffrey Wachtel, secretary of the Board of Trustees; and lecturer Patrick Windham.
Stanford 2 to 4 is welcoming 11 veterans this summer, but it's not the only campus initiative focusing on the military-affiliated community. The Stanford Ignite program is holding a four-week summer session for post-9/11 veterans interested in innovation and entrepreneurship. And President Hennessy has approved the first two years of funding for the Office for Military-Affiliated Communities, notes Greg Boardman, vice provost for student affairs. OMAC will "offer support to active-duty service members, veterans, selected reserves, ROTC members, dependents and spouses of veterans, and alumni who have military affiliations," he says.
Treseder says veterans' solidarity comes instinctually: "We're always reaching back to help the next person."
Naomi Elias, MA '14, is a writer in Los Angeles.
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