With about 560 veterans attending Eastern fall quarter, the campus shut down Nov. 11 to honor those who served.

ASEWU Legislative Liaison Jordan Martin said Eastern is one of the most veteran-friendly campuses in the state.

As a part of ASEWU, Martin set up a flag display in the campus mall. Each military branch was present with its flag. He said, “There’s no way we can fully repay them for what they did, so … we support them the best we can.”

SAIL put up American flag-printed ribbons and veteran statistic signs around the campus mall.

Resources specifically for veterans can be found in the Veterans Resource Center on campus. The center has a lounge for veterans with computers, ability for printing and a small kitchen area.

The Veterans Resource Center provides “GI Bill benefits, admissions and financial aid counseling, targeted recruitment, academic and personal advising, liaison with disability services, referrals to campus support services, specialized tutoring, support for veterans’ student club, activities for veteran and military students and their families, public presentations and speakers and workshops for veteran and military students,” according to the Veterans Resource Center webpage.

David Millet, director of the Veterans Resource Center, said it would mean more if students would have conversations with veterans to get to know them more as people: “I think it’s good as a student on campus getting to know our veterans.”

“The main effort here is to help them get their benefits,” said Millet.

Student veteran Nathan Page said Eastern has a good veteran center and veteran liaison; they are helpful in setting up the GI Bill benefits for veterans.

Page said, “Eastern is one of the schools in the state that has the level of veteran services that it does.” He said the Veterans Resource Center staff is trained in their jobs to meet the veteran students’ specific needs.

Tarlene Barfield, a student veteran, said she just happened to stumble upon the Veterans Resource Center. She said, “They told me what I qualified for and I got a tuition waiver.”

Barfield said her time at Eastern has been a positive experience. She said she has found a support group and camaraderie with her fellow veterans at the center.

“I feel pampered sometimes,” said student veteran Ryan de Coup-Crank. He said he feels like there are adequate resources available for veterans on campus.

Coup-Crank said, “People appreciate veterans here.”

For more information about resources for veterans at EWU, visit access.ewu.edu/veterans-services.