The undergraduate veteran population plays a crucial role at Harvard, bringing rich backgrounds and unique experiences to our campus. The student vet population—composed of 76 individuals, according to an interview with the Harvard Undergraduate Veterans Organization (HUVO)—has both enhanced the school atmosphere and grown in size and visibility in recent years. The president of HUVO, Benjamin Allen ’24, who served in the Navy for nearly five years before attending Harvard, described having witnessed “a shift in direction and acceptance [in the Harvard community] when it comes to vets” during his undergraduate experience.
Harvard has a long and complicated history regarding its relationship with and support for the United States military. After being commissioned as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army in 1775, George Washington housed his troops at the college. And during World War II, portions of Harvard’s campus were converted into army and naval officer training grounds. Today, Harvard has more Medal of Honor Recipients than any other educational institution in the United States, excluding West Point and the Naval Academy. Thus, when the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) was founded in 1916, it soon came to Harvard in 1926.
However, in the face of anti-Vietnam War activism, Harvard decided to withhold academic credit from ROTC participants in 1969 before removing the program from campus a few years later. Harvard retained its ROTC ban through the 1970s and for the next forty years due to concerns over homophobia in the military. It was not until 2011, when Congress finally repealed the discriminatory Federal Policy “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” that Harvard lifted its ROTC ban.
Twelve years later, Harvard’s military community—including both vets and ROTC cadets—is rapidly growing as it recovers from the University’s many years of exclusion. In 2017, the College declared its public partnership with Service to School, an organization that aids the transition from the military to university, as a means of attracting more veterans to Harvard. The consequences of the collaboration are quite visible: the total undergraduate veteran population was four in 2014, three in 2016, six in 2017, and eight in 2018. This number has steadily increased, with 24 students in 2020 and 51 students in 2021. Now, in 2023, there are 76 veterans. But the changes in veteran presence on campus extend far beyond simple numeric value.
Within his years here, Allen has witnessed and nurtured transformations in the military campus culture. When Allen got to Harvard in 2020, he was vaguely aware of an existing veteran community but had no one to whom he could reach out. Confronted with the additional isolation of COVID-19 restrictions, Allen took matters into his own hands. “Everybody was already isolated, and I just wanted to find people who had a similar background to me,” he said. He took to social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook to connect the twelve veterans in the Class of 2024.
He was successful in his efforts, making lifelong friends and even a blocking group through the community. He also fostered lasting change—the veteran community is far more interconnected now. HUVO recently hosted an introductory meeting, aimed primarily at first-years, with a turnout of 22 veterans. Though HUVO has existed for much time, such a turnout would have never occurred in years past, according to Allen. “The years before I took over [HUVO], if they did an open town hall, nobody would show up.”
Second-year veteran student Matthew Malkin ’26, who served in the Marine Corps, expressed a similar sentiment. “We’re a growing community, and my experience as a student veteran here is a lot different compared to the older student veteran classmates of mine who have been here for a little while,” he said. “There absolutely is a distinct community with the veterans here.” He feels grateful for the veteran community that he has found at Harvard. “I’ve had a pretty appreciative experience of open arms receiving me and having a group I can connect with, with somewhat shared experiences.”
On the other hand, Malkin sometimes finds it a bit difficult to relate to some traditional students, explaining that “you don’t really have a lot of shared background experience.” Malkin finds it easier to connect with non-vet students whose parents served.
With reference to his transition from the military to Harvard, veteran Bernard Ervin ’25 stated that “The metaphor of a roller coaster is probably the most accurate.”
“I think people here at Harvard are naturally curious, and so it’s always fun just talking to students and hearing their background,” said Ervin. However, at times, Ervin finds it difficult to be away from the Marines: “As a veteran, you still struggle with being away from an institution that gave you so much.” Ervin noted the irreplicable bonds that he was able to form during his time at the Marines. “When you leave that family of the brotherhood and sisterhood of the military, where you’re willing to die for the person to the left and right of you, and then you come here, you feel lost. And so, you try to connect with people, but it’s just not the same.”
First-year student veteran Austin Lawrence ’27 has tackled his transition to Harvard student life head-on. “Socially, I think that the best way to do it is to just kind of jump in and integrate yourself. Nowhere in life are people going to come up to you and say, hey, I want you all up in this social group. It takes the individual to actually want to be in a social group,” Lawrence said.
“I think adaptation is something that is crucial for veterans, and I think that it’s potentially a hard skill to find when you’re transitioning out of the military. However, being in college, where you have such a diverse group where everyone is also trying to adapt, it’s not hard to do if you realize that everyone’s in the same boat as you,” he added. Lawrence noted that college is a new experience for everyone. “Just because you’re a veteran doesn’t necessarily mean you’re different from everybody. Everyone’s on the same playing field as far as what they’re trying to do.”
To Allen, increased student vet visibility on Harvard’s campus not only encourages other vets nationwide to apply to higher education, but also enriches college campuses as a whole. Allen finds it incredibly valuable for traditional students to study alongside individuals who served in the military, who could potentially be their section leader, math tutor, or CS50 TF. “Harvard has made a big push to have more veterans accepted year after year, and I think that’s so awesome for traditional students to see,” Allen said.
Included in Harvard’s mission is its commitment to bring together students “who come from different walks of life and have evolving identities.” The expanding student vet community, adding to the diverse reservoir of perspectives at the college, makes Harvard more enriching for all community members.
Sophie Dauer ’27 (sophiedauer@college.harvard.edu) believes that Harvard’s commitment to diversity should extend to diversity of experience.