13 absolute truths you as a student veteran must know before enrolling at Madison College
By Bob Cobb Freelance Ink LLC doing business as “John Q. Battlefield”
- Your professors are overwhelmed. Please be patient. Take notes each visit and ask the professor how to improve your grade. Take full advantage of office hours.
- The department chairs are rude and aggressive. You are being groomed for the University of Wisconsin expectation you possess at transfer. College is a discriminatory biased system looking past bigotry in the military as acceptable leadership. The same goes on a community college campus. They spit on you when you were drafted.
- College is dominated by liberal thinkers. Be open to critiques. In the military, we are not groomed to think. We act as a group and trust our leaders. The professor is the judge no matter what. You cannot approach anyone aggressively.
- When asking a question in a group, please abstain from drinking a Rip It and using your knife hand during presentations. College is a casual environment. Take each lesson, lack of disrespect and opinion with a grain of salt. You served. You know better.
- Bring a pen with you to each class. Stop showing up like Joe S. the Ragbag. Death metal t-shirts are acceptable. Although we are civilians, we are still responsible for our behavior. When the kids get rowdy, be the observer for public safety. Take notes and pay attention.
- Strive to achieve honors. Having an honors mind is an asset. That starts with using the writing center. Use writing to challenge your beliefs and think skeptically.
- Leave the semester the way you found it. Do your absolute best to be respectful, cordial and polite. Do not start out your email greeting with “Hey” or “Dude,” unless specified in the syllabus.
- Randomly read your syllabus. Chances are almost perfect all confusion can be resolved with a syllabus review. This is your investment in you. Go all out.
- Nobody has the right to demand they view your documentation without your permission first. See the attachment titled “Privacy Act Consent Form.” Download the pdf here.
- The system is not set up to support you. Your presence on campus is a nuisance to the administration. If you are a disabled veteran, the VITAL program can assist you with a social worker on campus. Take full advantage.
- Be a solid writer and write often. By my senior year, I became a gonzo journalist. Dare to dream to write perfectly and you will. Take each rubric to the chin and embrace the suck.
- Do not mess around with ChatCPT. You will be flagged. You will pay your G.I. Bill back.
- If you are a registered patient with the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, have at least a 30 percent service-connected rating and are a resident of Wisconsin for state determined length of years, you qualify for the Wisconsin G.I. Bill. You, your spouse and dependents will receive 128 free credits to spend however you wish. Talk to an enrollment advisor for more details. Outpost 422 was built through class projects for mine and is always free for you to use here at outpost422. Com.
Outpost 422 