A couple weeks ago, MU celebrated one of its greatest traditions: Homecoming. It was hard to miss the decorations, special events and all-around good time being had on campus. Stories were exchanged about favorite Homecoming traditions, past times and memories. One Homecoming Queen candidate told us about her experience at the 2010 Homecoming Game, where Mizzou upset the number one team in the country, Oklahoma. She described how it felt to be in Faurot Field that night and I realized that, like her, that game was a very special game for me as well.
If you start this article, please finish it.
In the weeks leading up to Mizzou’s 99th Homecoming in October 2010, campus, like always, was abuzz with preparations for the upcoming event. Many students were running on little-to-no sleep (for some, this was nothing unusual), constructing floats and house decorations and trying to prepare for the best Homecoming that they had been a part of. Our football team was practicing as hard as always. The football staff was watching film, checking stats and creating a strategy to welcome into their home and beat an incredible opponent. I doubt many actually said it, but at the end of the day, everyone knew that we were playing the top college football team in the country and everyone knew what that meant.
More than 7,000 miles away, Forward Operating Base (FOB) Payne, located in southern Afghanistan, was also abuzz with preparations for a large-scale, joint force raid. Many Marines were running on little-to-no sleep (for most, this was nothing unusual), continuing regular operations, repairing broken gear and equipment and preparing for the largest operation that they had been a part of. My brothers, our command and myself were all checking our gear, looking over intelligence and maps, planning air strikes, artillery fire and creating a strategy to enter into an incredible opponent’s home and destroy their ability to harm locals and ourselves. I doubt many actually said it, but at the end of the day, everyone knew that we were taking one of two bottlenecked and bomb-laden paths to reach one of the largest insurgent supply points in Afghanistan and everyone knew what that meant.
I’m currently in my second year at MU. I’m a 25-year-old sophomore who came to college knowing that every non-veteran student on campus was being supported by Mommy and Daddy. Campus was made up of liberals who hated vets and have had everything given to them on a silver spoon without ever facing any trial more stressful than finding out that their daily Starbucks runs and Heidelberg happy hours have somehow shrunken their skinny jeans even more. On top of that, most students are so indecisive that the average number of majors a college student declares before graduating is four, but who cares? Mommy and Daddy are paying.
Officially, I’m about to change my major for the fourth time. Unofficially, the number is higher. I’ve taken courses in engineering, sociology, biology, calculus, religion, statistics and more. Even with my shotgun-pattern course load, my greatest lesson wasn’t learned in a classroom; it was learned surrounded by other students.
During a 24-hour retreat, I learned more about this campus and its students than I learned in any other time in my life. I had the opportunity, though forced as it was, to learn how wrong I was and how incredible many of the students at MU really are.
MU is home to some incredibly inspiring students and had I not left my comfort zone and confronted the misconceptions I had accepted, I wouldn’t have the friends that I have today. One of the best guys I know has two X-chromosomes and another is Iranian-Indian-American Muslim. As a Marine veteran, this is anything but widely accepted.
As many know, MU defeated Oklahoma during that Homecoming. From what I understand, it was a sight to see — and one that I willingly missed. By some miracle, that game was shown at FOB Payne. The game started at 3 a.m. our time and it was my last chance to sleep. I had barely slept over the preceding weeks and I knew that once we stepped off, it would be at least 36 hours before I got the chance to sleep again. I slept through it; my lieutenant, a Sooners fan, stayed up for the game. The next day, as we prepared to leave, he said nothing. It was the first time the entire deployment that he wasn’t dogging on MU. The raid went off without a hitch; an unexpected thunderstorm caused the explosives in the path we took to fail.
We as student veterans are trying very hard to return to some sense of normal. Our experiences are incredibly diverse. Some have experienced Hell on Earth, while others never left US soil. Our interests, political affiliations, goals and orientations are as diverse, if not more, than in any other group on campus. We, like you, deserve more than a stereotype. There are many parallels that we share and I urge you to spend this Veterans Week learning about the individuals that also call this campus “home.”
