Dear editor,

I am a psychology and social work student at the University of Montevallo.

In 2011 there was a change to the VA law, which would have allowed me to attend college with my tuition, books and fees covered.

The changed law now states that my father needed to serve during wartime in order for me to receive my benefits.

This minor change caused me to lose thousands of dollars in funding, which is causing me to have more than $30,000 in student loan debt before I even turned 20 years old.

It has also caused my parents financial grief to ensure that I attend college.

Even though my father never went to war, it does not mean that he didn’t stand ready and willing to fight for his country had the need come up.

I do not feel that he and his child should be denied the benefits afforded to other veterans.

This legislative session there is a bill (Senate Bill 85) that seeks to change the bill back to take out the wartime specification.

While I may not be able to recover the money I have already borrowed, I would be able to use the funding toward my master’s degree and possibly even to obtain my doctorate.

I ask that the public be informed about it and help to gain support of it. Do anything you can such as writing your representative and let them know that you want them to support this bill.

I am not the only student that has been affected by the new law and unless we can get the bill passed, I won’t be the last.

 

Jennifer Chadwick, Verbena