On Friday, the Haas Center for Public Service, the Stanford Military Service Network, and Kappa Alpha co-hosted a barbeque to celebrate Veterans’ Day.
Attendees included students, faculty, and other members of the Stanford community, with a mix of veterans, currently serving officers and enlisted personnel, and civilians. Professor Larry Diamond and Col. Joseph Felter were scheduled to deliver remarks commemorating veterans’ service.
The event provided a chance for veterans and currently serving personnel to get to know each other and to share their experiences, and for civilians it was an opportunity to gain a better understanding of military service. It was also an informal forum for ROTC cadets to learn more about their future career.
However, the event took place within a broader framework of apathy. There was little discussion of Veterans’ Day on campus outside of the barbeque and the two commemorative wreaths placed at Memorial Church and Memorial Auditorium, which included personal letters from Stanford President John Hennessy. While many schools do not have class on Veterans’ Day, classes at Stanford convened as usual, and there was no mention of the holiday in the Stanford Daily, The Unofficial Stanford Blog, or any other discussion forum searched by the Review.
Though events such as the Veterans’ Day Barbeque are great for building up the military-connected community at Stanford, it is clear that increasing the general understanding of military service and veterans’ issues on campus will not be easy.