Thousands of people all over the nation who receive educational benefits through the military are still waiting to get their tuition and monthly stipends for fall quarter.

Wendy Gegenhuber, program coordinator for Western’s Veterans Affairs, said the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill is fairly new, and each person must be processed manually.

“The Post-9/11 [G.I. Bill] is delaying everyone’s payments,” Gegenhuber said.

The bill, which provides financial support for education and housing to  people who have served 90 days of aggregate survice, was passed Aug. 1, 2009.     

Western junior Chris Rowell, a veteran who works in Western's VA office, said the VA office, which processes the educational benefits in Oklahoma became overwhelmed by the high volume of new applicants and people who switched over to the new bill from a different educational benefit.

“This is the first time [the VA office has] done this, so there’s going to be a lot of mistakes made and stuff that’s going to have to get redone,” Rowell said.

Rowell said he has been waiting for his tuition and basic housing allowance for two months. Rowell said because his work-study job is also funded through the VA office, he has not received any of his paychecks yet either.

“It was a traffic jam really,” Rowell said. “Everyone’s trying to get their benefits and [the VA office] can only go so fast.”

Western junior and veteran Phil Coomes said the benefits of the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill are great because eligible veterans can get 100 percent of their tuition paid for plus a housing allowance and also increases the number of people who qualify for monthly stipends. The living allowance is determined by the VA of approved accredited universities.

Coomes said the main VA office in Oklahoma hired 600 people to process the high increase of people switching over to the new G.I. Bill since the VA office in Oklahoma was not big enough to handle it.

“They rented an old grocery store [next to the main office in Oklahoma] right next door to the processing building,” Coomes said. “They turned it into an office space for these 600 people to sit there and work through all these files, so it’s pretty crazy.”

Rowell said he was lucky enough to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid application three days before the June 30 deadline for the 2008-09 school year. With the help of Gegenhuber, he got the process expedited so he could get the money in a reasonable time. He also has a second job working at YMCA to help him get by.

“I was eating cans of beans for breakfast,” Rowell said.

Rowell said when he transferred to Western from Whatcom Community College summer quarter 2009, he was offered the President’s Scholarship but turned it down because he wanted it given to someone that needed it more than him since he was expecting money to come in from the new G.I. Bill.

Coomes said he and his wife used his credit card to get by while waiting for his payments to come into effect, even though the new bill is meant to support one veteran and not dependants.

“[My wife and I] were really hurting, and summer is hard because the tuition is just so much more expensive,” Coomes said. “We were just basically racking up the credit card debt.”
Veterans at Whatcom Community College are also waiting for their tuition and monthly housing allowance. Whatcom freshman Renatta Richardson said her mom, who has terminal lung cancer, has been trying to help her out while she is waiting for her money.

“I’m grateful for what I do have,” Richardson said. “At least my classes are paid for, so I have gratitude.”
Richardson said she and other veterans in the same situation find it easier to get through their tough time with emotional support from other veterans at the community college's VA office.

Rowell said he remains optimistic about not getting paid because other people have it worse than him, such as families of three or four depending on money from the new bill who have not received payment.

He said being in the military has also helped him become mentally prepared to deal with stressful situations.

“Nothing’s blowing up around me,” Rowell said. “I’m not getting shot at, I’m not tired, I’m not cold, I’m not hungry, I’m not wet. This is paradise, really.”

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