Imagine giving the ultimate sacrifice of fighting for your country. Imagine the years of training, the mixed emotions of deployment and the eerie sounds of the battlefield. Imagine the pain of fallen brothers and sisters, the burden of killing and the cultural shock upon returning home.

For some of you, this is your story. You sacrificed your life to serve this country. Your blood, sweat and tears fell to a nation who has largely criticized why you were even fighting in the first place. Regardless of the merits of the war, you did your duty – a duty that I appreciate greatly.

Unfortunately, the 2011 national debt stand-off in Congress greatly jeopardized the future of our veterans. To summarize briefly: Republicans refused to increase the debt ceiling without significant spending cuts, and Democrats refused to cut without increases in revenue.

A deal could not be struck. So the two parties agreed to increase the ceiling, kicking the can down the road a few more months, but with one contingency: $2 trillion had to be cut over 10 years if a solution could not be reached by the beginning of 2013 (which was pushed back again to March 1, 2013). These spending cuts, commonly known as “sequestration,” resulted in cuts to defense spending and other military programs.

For some of our peers at the Capstone, these spending cuts have taken a toll on how they can finance their educations. The Marines, Army, Coast Guard and Air Force said that due to these cuts, they would not longer allow individuals to apply for their tuition assistance programs, which gave soldiers as much as $4,500 annually to pursue a college diploma. Army officials said 201,000 soldiers used the program in fiscal year 2012, showing just how many veterans face decreased education funding.

The popular response from many news sources has been that despite the unfortunate financial decisions, these veterans should just jump on the “student loan train.” This response is truly appalling and does not even address the real issue at hand.

This University is in a strong position to stand up for the injustices done to our veterans. We feature one of the best veteran and military affairs offices in the country. The individuals who work in this office help pair veterans with scholarships, work opportunities, transitional programs and with acclimating to new social groups.

According to the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs, we have over 500 veterans on our campus today. Yet there is currently no clear solution to help subsidize the lost income from the tuition assistance programs.

In order to show full support for these 500 plus students, the University should freeze the tuition rates for veterans at the 2012-2013 academic year. Since I enrolled in the fall of 2010, tuition has been raised from $3,950 to $4,600 per semester.

While I understand the cost of attendance has increased due to budget cuts from the state and federal government, we should not expect our veterans to face not only lost funding but also yearly increases of hundreds of dollars.

Additionally, Senator Richard Durbin from Illinois recently authored the Veterans Education Equity Act of 2013, which would allow all veterans to receive in-state tuition. This piece of legislation is currently sitting in the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.

On behalf of our fellow students who are veterans, The University of Alabama should come out in full support of this important bill, as it has the potential to rectify the lost funding our veterans are facing.

As students, we do have the power to enact change. I urge you to contact your local congressional representative and encourage them to sign on in support of the bill.

Each veteran on this campus is a hero. Your humility, sacrifice and courage are to be lauded. Whether you are for or against the war is irrelevant. We can all come together and agree that this University and community have the privilege to help assist our veterans, both socially and financially.

Davis Vaughn is a junior majoring in communication studies and political science. His column runs biweekly on Tuesdays.

Leading in today’s Crimson White:

[Letter to the Editor] It’s time to recognize pervasive problem of HIV/AIDS in this country’s women

[Letter to the Editor] Reflection on our Civil Rights past should inform future decision on LGBTQ

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