With the number of veteran students on the rise, Duke's annual ceremony commemorating Veterans Day will take place in front of the Chapel Tuesday.
Each year, approximately 100 individuals from across campus attend the ceremony, which includes the recitation of the national anthem and remarks from Vice President of Administration Kyle Cavanaugh. The event—which is sponsored by Duke Human Resources and began in 2010—also features the Duke color guard and representatives from the University's ROTC units.
The ceremony's first few years have coincided with a significant spike in the University's veteran student population as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down. From 2009 to 2013, the number of veteran students increased by more than 450 percent—with more than 240 veterans enrolled last year, the majority in Duke's graduate and professional schools.
"I think it's a unique opportunity for us to appreciate our men and women in uniform," Cavanaugh said of the ceremony. "We took an initiative to be a little bit more symbolic and visible with this, and it seems to have been well-received."
Although the event began only in 2010, the administration has long been interested in providing some form of recognition for veterans on campus, Cavanaugh said.
This year's ceremony will feature guest speaker Maj. Mike Snyder, a safety manager for Duke’s Facilities Management Department. Snyder, a veteran of the Marine Corps, has been employed at Duke for 13 years and is one of approximately 800 veteran employees on campus.
"Veterans Day is significant to anyone who has worn the uniform, but it's also significant to friends and family," he said. "It's the one day in the years when we recognize those who've been put in harm's way."
Snyder noted the event has grown significantly from the first year in attendance due to increased awareness about the ceremony.
Paul Escajadillo, an Army veteran and second-year MBA student at the Fuqua School of Business, expressed enthusiasm for the event, noting that the Duke MBA Armed Forces Association has been pushing t-shirt sales in promotion of it.
Veteran representation has been prevalent in his classes, Escajadillo said—adding that both students and faculty respect the unique contributions and perspectives veterans bring to classrooms. Escajadillo was deployed to Ecuador, Columbia and Afghanistan between 2005 and 2012.
"When you're deploying to a lot of these countries, you definitely get a unique insight into how the rest of the world lives," he said. "And in a place like Iraq or Afghanistan, going through a lot of those experiences with your fellow soldiers definitely strengthens the bond with you and other people. You also learn that as much as you want to understand other people, at the end of the day, there is evil in the world."
Duke has provided an extremely welcoming environment for veteran students, he added.
"The year and a half I have been here at Duke has been phenomenal," Escajadillo said. "I have never felt more welcome in any other institution since the army."
Tuesday's event will begin at 11 AM and last for around half an hour.
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