Re: tips digest: November 07, 2002

[Cynthia Bainbridge Mullis, Ph.D.]

Reservist called up:

Even though I'm only agreeing with what has been said so far, I have to respond to this on because I'm a former GI who is thoroughly disgusted by our current foreign policy. Also, this pretty much happened to me once. All of the "official" stuff will be handled by the University, but you can cut through the red tape from both organizations by just asking to see a copy of his or her orders. Every soldier is used to pulling them out sixty or seventy times a day and won't even blink. Or just ask for the name and Commander of the soldiers unit. Part of the Commander's job is to help their people transition between military and civilian life with a minimum of hassle, so there's nothing weird about calling the unit to verify the student's story. Whether the person is taking a leave of absence from school or a job the situation is pretty clear cut, especially when you keep in mind the fact that being activated and all issues about where they end up being assigned are completely - and I mean totally! - outside that soldier's control. As of that moment they are completely subject to the whims of the army (or navy, whatever), and the army really doesn't give a damn about the convenience of anyone but themselves. The regulations sound really complicated when you read them verbatim, but the general rule of thumb is clear: no one can ever be penalized by an employer, school, organization, or anything else as a result of their military service. So any rules the school may have about time limits to complete degrees or incompletes or anything else are almost certainly out the window in when someone is activated, especially if they get sent overseas. I found this out through experience, too. Basically, any policy that might penalize a soldier who was serving on active duty needs to be waived for him or her. If there are any legal exceptions to this I sure don't know what they are, and if anyone else knows of any I'd be pretty interested. (Basically, the army reserves the right to abuse civil rights, discriminate, and endanger human life solely for themselves). Come on! Give the guy whatever breaks he needs. He thought he was signing up to serve his country and he ends up fighting for George Bush's re-election! Even if the law didn't require us to cut him a break, it just seems terrible to add insult to injury by making him withdraw or even risk failing classes. Sorry - this is obviously something I've been thinking about lately. I don't know whether to read the paper like crazy so that I can stay mad as hell about all this or whether I should stop following the issue so that I can calm down and get some perspective. The trouble is I'm not sure I want perspective. Someone, please relate this last part to psychology! In the meantime I'll apologize for cluttering the list with politics and go soak my head. --Cindy M.

Cynthia Bainbridge Mullis, Ph.D.
Asstistant Professor of Psychology
University of Wisconsin - Whitewater
800 West Main Street
Whitewater, WI 53190

(262) 472-3037 Office
(262) 472-1863


Office Hours - Fall 2002
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