Burnt Orange Report

It's unfortunate...but the truth is that Basham really isn't qualified for in-state tuition.

Before Basham joined the Marine Corp, he had moved to Lousiana AND changed his state of residency. He then joined the service.

So, not only does ACC not recognize Basham as having me the minium requirements for all students regarding in-state eligibility, but the Marine Corp doesn't recognize Basham's home-of-record as Texas.

This is also unfortunate for Basham, as he does not qualify for the Hazlewood Act.

The Hazlewood Act provides a waiver of tuition and some fees at State-supported/public (taxpayer supported) colleges and universities to veterans who were legal residents of Texas at the time they entered military service, and whose Home of Record is listed as Texas on the DD214.

Also, when I joined the Army, during basic training we were made very aware of what are "home of record" meant on our DD214, and were even allowed an opportunity to verify it and change it if necessary.

Basham isn't being denied residencey status for being in Iraq too long, rather that the entire time he was in Iraq, he was considered a resident of LA. And Basham knows that.

I'm retired Air Force, and I recall a lot of emphasis on the "home of record" issue both before and during my time in the service.

I do think the law could be tweaked to allow veterans like Mr Basham to become residents after some amount of time, say a year, even if they are in college for that year.

But IF (and its a big if) the press reports are correct, ACC isn't doing anything but enforcing the laws that exist at this time.

I'm a Marine and Iraq war vet and I'm glad to see that Commissioner Patterson, another Marine, has come to the aid of this young man. ACC has taken the attitude that the Travis County clerks office did when they did not send us our absentee ballots on time while other counties did. It seems that many of the governmental agencies in this county have a bias against veterans or those currently serving on active duty. It's one thing to oppose policy or certain political beliefs, but completely another to take it out on our service members. I attended ACC before graduating from UT so I know that perhaps ACC is just being a big bureacracy and acting uncaring, but it seems like plain common sense that something can be done for Cpl Basham. While Cindy Sheehan is again on the front page of today's Statesman this story of an Iraqi War vet getting hassled by a govt agency is hidden in a small blurb in the Metro-State.

I also want to ad that while in Iraq we had a tremendous out pouring of support from all walks of life to incude many of our elected officials. Rep Gene Green of Houston even went out of his way to send a large box of items for the troops. Many other Democrats and Republicans from around the state did the same from Pete Sessions to Solomon Ortiz. We never heard from Lloyd Doggett however and somehow that doesn't surprise me.

I can't help but wonder if this story would have received the same amount of attention if it were a veteran who did not serve in Iraq.

The fact is that this Marine did not hold, or maintain, Texas residency. If the State were to make an exception in this case then they would be setting a precedent to do so in every other similar case.

It is sad that this Marine did not ensure his 'home of record' was from Texas, but we should not blame the administration of ACC for enforcing same policy they impose on other veterans and students.

Also, the Hazlewood Act can only be used by veterans who have utilized all federal funding, such as the Montgomery GI Bill. It is a great deal for the most part, but I was unaware of this requirement until just before my discharge from the military.

Dallas, Texas

Dallas Morning News
Saturday August 20, 2005 9:40 a.m. PDT
www.dallasnews.com

Need more be said?

Eight states have joined Texas in offering in-state tuition to illegal immigrants: California, Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Utah and Washington. An effort to pass similar federal legislation, known as the DREAM Act, has been stalled in Congress.