The 956 student veterans
and their families on MTSU’s campus finally have an official voice in student
government.
The Student Government
Association formally created a Veteran Senator position at the beginning of the
spring semester and hosted its first election this semester for the new
position as well.
Sociology major and
student veteran Sean Anthony Martin, who was appointed to be the first veteran
senator late in the fall 2015 semester, has relished in serving his peers.
“It’s really been
fascinating to see how so many people are concerned about their representation
in the SGA now,” said Martin, a U.S. Marine veteran from Smyrna, Tennessee. “It’s
something we haven’t had before and it’s great.”
Martin has already been
a key figure on campus working in the new Veterans and Military Family Center,
which opened in November in renovated space on the first floor of Keathley
University Center
It was during his time
there and also his participation on the Gov. Bill Haslam’s task force for veterans’
education that made him the most logical option as the initial appointment to
represent student veterans on the SGA, according to Dr. Hillary Miller, director
of the Veterans and Military Family Center.
“One of the things I
love about Sean is how he sees the big picture. He understands policy,” Miller
said. “His work on the governor’s task force was about creating policies for veterans.
He has the mind for this and it’s been a perfect fit.”
SGA President Lindsey
Pierce played a vital role in aggressively creating the position with input
from Miller. The two have been working on the position since spring 2015.
“Our student veterans
have been involved in the SGA for years, but always wanted a formal position,”
Miller added. “After (Pierce) was elected, she really made this an initiative
and reached out to us and we said we wanted a seat and she did as well.”
The two worked
diligently to create the seat and getting it approved by SGA senators. Miller
then approached Martin, who quickly accepted the appointment to serve until SGA
elections this spring.
With just one semester
on the job, Martin has worked to make sure his short term is successful. His
main project has been to work on the addition of another seat to the SGA, this
time for disabled students including some veterans.
“I think us (veterans)
coming into the programs as nontraditional students, sometimes we’re behind the
curve. We hear the term ‘disabled’ a lot, especially with Veterans Affairs.
I’ve sat down with other senators and we’ve all agreed we need to facilitate an
‘accessibility’ senate seat,” said Martin.
Martin thinks an
accessibility seat would help bridge the gap between traditional and
nontraditional students as well as force an open conversation about the needs
of disabled students that may not otherwise be had.
Martin will graduate in
May and three students are on the spring SGA election ballot to be the next
veteran senator. SGA elections are being held April 11-14 to elect the
executive officers and senators, with results expected to be released sometime
during the next week.
For more information on
the veteran senator position and the Veterans and Military Family Center,
contact Dr. Hillary Miller at Hilary.Miller@mtsu.edu.
For more information
about SGA, visit http://www.mtsu.edu/sga.
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