Towson University Celebrates Veterans Day

Press release from Towson University:

By Kyle Hobstetter on November 9, 2020

Since its creation, Towson University’s Military & Veterans Center (MVC) has provided a community for TU’s active-duty and veteran students.Usually on Veterans Day, MVC partners with other offices at TU to host special events
that honor students who are veterans or active military. But with the COVID-19 pandemic
and classes being moved online, the MVC was unable to do so this year.

To accommodate physical distancing protocols and still honor students who have served,
TU and the MVC will host a series of online events to celebrate Veterans Day.

“President [Kim] Schatzel always puts together a Veterans Day luncheon, which was
a huge event for us over the past few years,” says Dario DiBattista, director of the
MVC. “We’re very interested in growing the Military & Veterans Center and our veterans
alumni group. Once we realized we wouldn’t be able to have it, we kept trying to find
some fun things to do for our students.

All Veterans Day events are open to the entire Towson University community. The celebration
includes:

• The History of Veterans Day(Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 12 p.m.): Osher Lifelong Learning Institute instructor and veteran
  Rex Rehfeld to present the history of Veterans Day along with TU archives associate
  Felicity Knox ’94, who will discuss the impact service members and veterans have had
  on TU’s campus and how they focus their talents on the school as faculty, administrators
  and student leaders.
• The Veterans Day Comedy Show with the Armed Services Arts Partnership (Wednesday, Nov. 11 at noon): The event will feature military-veteran comedians reflecting
  on their service and other topics.
• Veterans Day Trivia with Charm City Trivia(Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m.)
• Military & Veterans Center Support Program Giving Day:On Thursday, Nov. 12, Towson University Advancement will encourage its donors to directly
  support the MVC.

Many are taking notice of the work done by the MVC, as Towson University is in the
top 1% among universities nationwide for veterans.

TU ranked No. 23 out of nearly 1,800 institutions for veteran friendliness in a review
by the website College Factua. ln Maryland, TU earned top marks from College Factual
for veteran students among all universities. TU has also been recognized by GI Jobs magazine as a military-friendly university. TU is one of the first institutions in
the region to establish a military and veteran’s center.

As a veteran of the Marine Corps, DiBattista admits that he doesn’t sugarcoat a lot
of things. He knows firsthand that the university not just going through the motions.

“I wouldn’t be here if it was not military friendly,” DiBattista says. “I wouldn’t
feel comfortable looking somebody in the face and saying ‘you should come here because
we’re going to take care of you,’ if it wasn’t true.”

This press release was produced by Towson University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.