Raymond Baccari
News Editor
PROVIDENCE, R.I., — Rhode Island College’s Military Resource Center (MRC) has plans to get more involved on campus alongside providing resources for students who are veterans, current military service members (active/guard/reserve), military spouses, dependents and ROTC cadets. Located in Student Union 205, the MRC’s mission is “to ensure that military-affiliated students are able to make the most of their college experience. From orientation to graduation, the MRC is dedicated to providing the services and resources [students] need to be successful in [their] academic pursuits!”
Lisa Levasseur, the Interim Assistant Director, told The Anchor some of the ways in which the MRC does that, “We walk student veterans and military-affiliated students through the process of understanding their educational benefits.Veteran benefits, it [contains] a lot of paperwork, it’s very confusing. So not only do you have to do the RIC admissions process, you also have to do the veteran’s paperwork and application process. We help them and put them at ease [by letting them know] that we’re here as a resource for them.”
Levasseur continued, “We provide a resource center for our students to be able to come in to help them answer any questions that they might have. We also have computer access for [our students]. RIC has a lot of RI National Guard students here at RIC and [for them] we have what we call CAC card readers (military smart card readers) on our computers. If they need to jump online and go do something for the National Guard, they are able to have access to do so.”
The MRC will host numerous events in November. Starting on Nov. 6 from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. will be the Student Veteran Cemetery Cleanup at Oakland Cemetery on 1569 Broad Street in Cranston. Later on that same day, there will be WaterFire’s ninth-annual Salute to Veterans at 5:38 p.m. on 4 North Main Street in Providence.
From Nov. 8 to Nov. 12, the MRC will have an information table and POW display in the Donovan Dining Center. Also on Nov. 12 will be the Student Veteran Organization’s general meeting in the Student Union conference room, located on the third floor at 1 p.m.
Before that, on Nov. 11 will be RIC’s Veterans Day Ceremony starting at 10 a.m. at the pavilion outside of the Murray Center. Their last event is on Nov. 15, student veterans will meet with President Frank D. Sánchez at 8:30 a.m. in the President's Dining Room.
Levasseur is optimistic about what the future holds for the MRC as they try to build a foundation for networking, providing resources for veterans and military-affiliated students; further introducing themselves to the RIC community.
“I think [that] the veteran communication goes a long way. If somebody knows that this resource is here for them on this campus, they will tell other veterans. I’m hoping that this community will continue to grow because we will spread the word that there’s a veteran resource for them here on campus. That we are a military-friendly institution and they can come here and feel like they belong.”
More information about the MRC can be found at https://www.ric.edu/department-directory/military-resource-center or on their Instagram @RICstudentveterans. Those who would like to ask Levasseur additional questions or seek additional information can email her at llevasseur@ric.edu.