Binghamton University spent some time honoring the men and women of the United States military over Veterans Day weekend.
On Friday, admission to the Binghamton Bearcats basketball doubleheader was free for all veterans, reservists and active duty members of the military.
On Saturday, the Returning Warrior 10-Miler, sponsored by the Broome Country STOP-DWI Program, sought to raise awareness about service members’ transitions from the dangers of war-zone driving to the new risks they face on public highways once they come back home.
On Sunday, admission to the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open was free for all veterans. The opener is named in honor of Kaloust, a U.S. Navy SEAL and former BU wrestler who died in a training accident earlier this year.
Monday, there was a flag raising ceremony conducted by the BU Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps unit and the New York State University Police at Binghamton. There was also a panel discussion with student veterans who discussed their personal experiences in the military, followed by a keynote address by Lt. Col. David Fosdick, who discussed the role of the modern military in today’s society.
The focus of the panel discussion and keynote address was what it means to be in the military and how real the experience is for those who are sent overseas.
Marty Wygmans, project director for TRiO Programs and in charge of overseeing the University’s Upward Bound, Student Support Services and Veterans Services programs, said she believes Veterans Day is an important day to educate college students about what military service means so that they are more receptive to their fellow peers who might be veterans or serving under active duty.
“As a college campus, we not only have students who have completed their military service, we also have students who continue to serve under various active duty programs,” Wygmans wrote in an email. “Their classmates have been bombarded with video games like Call of Duty and various movie depictions that cast a view of the military that is misleading, based in fantasy, and sometimes hurtful… So, I am pretty passionate about our need to educate the campus community on what the military is, what they do, and who our student-veterans are.”
Carmelo Centeno, a junior majoring in political science, joined the military after high school and served four years in the Air Force as military police. He believes that Veterans Day is an important day to remember current and former military servicemen and women.
“Veterans Day for me is a little more personal, not only being a veteran myself but also the fact that I have friends still over in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Centeno said. “I have respect for all military veterans for the work, the service and commitment that they have given to our country, but most of all the ones who have given the ultimate sacrifice and have given the their lives to defend a greater cause beyond themselves.”
Wygmans also has a personal connection to Veterans Day.
“My dad was a WWII veteran and his philosophy about Veterans Day was handed down to me through stories about his service and through his general attitude about life,” Wygmans said. “He believed that Veterans Day was a day to celebrate those that came home. He saw no problem with having cook-outs and big retail sales because we were celebrating life.”
Benjamin Lesnewski, a member of BU’s ROTC program and a junior majoring in archaeology, thinks Veterans Day is important to remind students that there are troops overseas sacrificing their lives to protect the United States.
“To a lot of people in the U.S. the war does not exist, it is just kind of happening over there,” Lesnewski said. “So, today is a good day to bring to the forefront that there are people over there being shot at right now. A common motto we have is R.E.D, which stands for remember everyone deployed, so I think Veterans Day is an important day to just remind the public that troops exist and are over there. “
The events were co-sponsored by the BU Veterans Services Office, athletics department, Office of the President, music department, Division of Student Affairs, Binghamton’s New York State University Police and U.S. Army ROTC at Binghamton University.