Put college within reach
Wick Sloane's freshman English class at Bunker Hill Community College stresses writing as a tool for civic engage ment.
One of his current students is John Around Him, an Iraq War veteran and a member of the Oglala Sioux nation, who turned out to have an issue close at hand that he wanted to write about: how to handle the high cost of college.
Around Him, 25, grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. He says he was a solid, but not spectacular, student. He couldn't afford college and wasn't going to qualify for enough financial aid to afford it. He enlisted in the Army, on the eve of the Iraq War, to get an education.
Around Him spent one year in Iraq, driving a tank in Baghdad. After his discharge, he moved to Boston. He said it was a better place to pursue a college education than South Dakota.
There was just one catch. The GI Bill doesn't pay enough to finance a college education. Around Him works 50 hours a week as a stockboy to pay his rent and other living expenses. He figures that, at his current rate of two courses a semester, he will finish college when he's 35.
Along with his classmates, he was assigned to research and write about college financial aid, a subject dear to many Bunker Hill students. Around Him decided to turn the assignment into a letter to US Senator John Kerry, a decorated war veteran.
His letter to Kerry laid out his situation. "I am sure you, a veteran of the Vietnam War, can relate to putting your life on the line; to live in an environment of gunfire, explosions, chaos and confusion, wondering if the next second might be your last.
"For most students, the idea of being shot at and delaying enrollment to earn money for college isn't very appealing. But for those students, like me, who do not qualify for federal financial aid, it may be the only option."
He wasn't really expecting a response. But he got one, quickly.
"His letter was very articulate, moving, forceful, and very compelling," Kerry said by phone last week. "When I read the letter and learned that they would be interested in me coming out there, I went as soon as I could. I wanted to know what was going on in their lives." Kerry met with the class last week on the Charlestown campus.
Kerry told the students he has several proposals on the table for making college more affordable. They range from tax credits for families with children in college to free tuition for those willing to commit to two years of public service after graduation.
He estimated the cost of the latter idea would run in the "several billions of dollars."
None of the proposals is likely to leap to the front burner in a Congress consumed, for now, with the progress of the war itself.
Yet, there is little question that financial aid for veterans is due for overhaul. In commercial after commercial, our volunteer military holds out the possibility of paying for college as a major selling point to recruits. But how many are told that even if they work full time, they may struggle to afford to go to school?
The financial aid issue is one Kerry is well aware of. Still, the meeting was eye-opening. "What really impressed me was the level of sacrifice they're making and the level of dedication to doing better," Kerry said. "You couldn't help but be blown away by their dedication and initiative."
Around Him was impressed that his letter got the attention of a US senator. It made him believe that well-chosen words can make a difference.
He stresses that he is not looking for anything special: He just believes that college should be within the reach of more people. As for himself, he plans to return someday to Pine Ridge Reservation.
His ambition, he told me, is to become a guidance counselor and encourage other Native Americans to attend college.
I don't think he will be suggesting they join the military first.
Adrian Walker is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at walker@globe.com. 