How not to treat a veteran in college

Here’s an interesting example of what happens when a vet confronts those around him with the reality of what his country has asked him to do. My bottom line: If you don’t want vets to talk about killing, don’t send them off to kill.

By Matthew Collins
Best Defense writing-as-therapy correspondent.

Soldier returns from Iraq. He was wounded a few times. He leaves the military and has trouble adjusting. He drinks. He has a run-in with the law that puts him in jail for a few months. He moves into his parents’ basement and enrolls in community college. He does well in his classes and is on track to get his life back together. Encouraged by his English professor, he writes about his combat experience and his difficulties adjusting to civilian life. The professor likes his paper and gives him an “A.” His paper ends up getting published in student newspaper. His fellow students now have a new appreciation for the sacrifices made by veterans. Right?

This would have been an inspiring story about the therapeutic power of writing, had administrators at the Community College of Baltimore County not decided to suspend Charles Wittington and order him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation before returning to class, the Baltimore Sun reports. “We all believe in freedom of speech, but we have to really be cautious in this post-Virginia Tech world,” said the school’s spokesman.

While the essay was rather dark, suspending him from school was one of the worst things administrators could have done. They just reminded him how little he has in common with his classmates and teachers. Instead of helping him to reintegrate into society, they have alienated him.

Thousands of service members have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of them are using the GI Bill to go to college. Some of them are still struggling to come to terms with what they saw and did. This process may take years. It is good that the administration is concerned about his mental health and that they take the safety of their students seriously. Still, after what Mr. Wittington did for his country, he deserves better than to be compared with a sociopath who murdered thirty-two people in cold blood. Perhaps he should look for different school.

Matthew Collins spent ten years as a Marine Intelligence Officer. The opinions expressed are his own, but Tom suspects they are shared by many readers of this blog.