The student veterans of NC State have started working to acquire space for an office staffed with a representative from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

This office would operate separately from the existing university Office of Veterans Affairs and the department of the Office of Records and Registration that currently deals with the G.I. Bill.

Matthew Smith, president of the NC State Student Veterans Association, said the V.A. proposed the idea of schools having an office with a V.A. employee to offer student veterans advice on reintegration after serving in the military, among other things.

Smith, a senior in crop biotechnology, said the V.A. is willing to fund the office. However, NC State must meet certain thresholds pertaining to numbers of student veterans, as well as have a physical space for the office.

“Our numbers increased to a point where we felt that we would be at least eligible for a space,” said Sam Tripp, former President of the Student Veterans Association for the 2012-13 school year.

If acquired, the new space would serve many purposes and offer a slew of services to student veterans at NC State.

Tripp said the space could potentially be a place where student veterans could learn about the G.I. Bill and all of its benefits.

“Not a lot of them know enough about the G.I. Bill,” Tripp said.

In addition to providing a space where student veterans can have meetings and study, the office would serve as a way to unify all the services offered to veterans at the university.

These services range from group counseling through Student Health to various services offered by the Career Development Center.

“There are so many different individuals and organizations that have things to offer veterans, but everything is so spread out,” Smith said.

The function of this proposed office would differ greatly from the existing Office of Veterans Affairs.

“The office to which you are referring is a couple of people working for the university doing the university administrative work,” Smith said.

Smith said the new space would exist to serve the students rather than the university administration. However, the new space could possibly collaborate with the existing Office of Veterans Affairs to be more available to student veterans.

“They could have two V.A. officials; one working in there and one working in the actual office at Registration & Records,” Tripp said.

The challenge for the veterans of NC State lies in the search for a space.

“I think we’ve got the numbers; the big problem now is actually getting a physical location somewhere on campus,” Smith said.

In the spring of 2013, the Student Veterans did have a temporary space.

Tripp said when many organizations housed in the old Talley Student Union were moved to Harrelson Hall due to the renovation of Talley, the Student Veterans Association was granted a temporary space in Talley while construction occurred.

However, the association was forced to leave this space due to the ongoing Talley renovations.

Since leaving this space, the Student Veterans Association has been unsuccessful in its attempts to get a new space.

“For the past two-and-a-half years it’s all been ‘fluff,’” said Tripp, referring to the various university organizations that have made unanswered promises to the Student Veterans Association regarding a new permanent space.

Presently, the search for a permanent space for the Student Veterans Association has come to a halt until the renovations in Talley are completed.