WASHINGTON – Let’s just say the road to “Student vets left waiting for education benefits” was a bit bumpy.
It all started on just my second day in Washington, Sept. 22, at an informational meeting with Derek Blumke and David Inkellis at Student Veterans of America. They had this great story that no one in the media was covering. Thousands of student vets all over the country weren’t getting their checks from the Department of Veterans Affairs for the new Post-9/11 GI Bill because of a backlog. Awesome scoop, right?
Then imagine my surprise as I was browsing my Google Reader that Friday and saw my story. My newness ended up in me being scooped. The New York Times and USA Today had beat me to the story.
I was resilient, though. I retooled the story to focus on the VA’s new decision to offer up to $3,000 in emergency funding for student vets. So I called American University student Adam L’Episcopo and asked if he was planning on taking advantage of this program. I learned that L’Episcopo wasn’t eligible for those funds because he still hadn’t received his certificate of eligibility for the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
Here’s what happened:
- Adam and I met on the AU campus Oct. 5. We had a good interview. I was able to get plenty of video of his daily student activities, and follow him to his Arabic class.
- I had already called the VA for reaction. A press officer assured me that she would be able to rustle up a comment before my deadline. Things were looking up.
But a mere three hours later, trouble popped up again. I had hauled a camera, lights, and tripod by myself on the Metro at rush hour to go to my interview with Blumke at Student Veterans of America. Rolling in, practically dripping with sweat, I walked into the office like I knew what I was doing. I told the receptionist I had a 6 p.m. interview with Derek Blumke, only to get a confused look in return
“Derek’s gone for the day,” she said. “Everyone at SVA is gone for the day.”
As soon as I returned to the Medill newsroom, my phone chimes, signaling I have a voice mail. Blumke wasn’t really gone for the day. He was just getting his dry cleaning. He could meet with me right now if I wanted to go back to his office across town.
I scheduled an 8:30 interview the next morning at our newsroom instead. It seemed to have gone without a hitch, except I discovered too late that the camera was on the wrong setting.
Now I was just waiting on the VA. And waiting. And waiting. After what felt like a hundred phone calls and emails, my editor and I decided to hold the story Wednesday, in hopes of hearing from the VA on Thursday. No dice.
We ran the story anyway. We are still waiting on the VA for comment, though.
I guess student vets aren’t the only ones stuck in a backlog.
Jessica Harbin is the War and National Security reporter at the Medill News Service DC, and a graduate student specializing in video broadcasting. She holds a degree in political science with a focus in international relations and a degree in communications. She wrote this opinion piece for Washington Reporting 2.0., an occasional column about the experience of reporting.