<p>My opinion is that those who stand to suffer the most from an incident such as this are the other veterans on campus.</p>
<p>If you are a veteran or are close to one, then you are familiar with how difficult the process of re-integration into society is after having served in the total institution that is the military, whether one is a combat vet or not. There is enough of a stigma surrounding veterans as it is, and they certainly have nothing to gain from such an article being published that will characterize veterans as killing addicts, potentially raising questions about the inner demons of every veteran student even to the most open-minded of teachers and fellow students.</p>
<p>Ultimately, this situation just made it even harder for veterans to prove that they aren’t all psychologically scarred victims suffering from the emotional trauma of war. One bad apple ruins the bunch, as they say; so the level-headed, mature, and disciplined veteran students who also attend the school will be paying the price for this grossly inaccurate characterization of veterans, whether or not the writer of the essay chooses to return to the school.</p>
<p>While this is essentially a “free speech vs. censorship” issue and I cant condone the restriction of the writers rights, there are always peripheral effects to such actions. Lets not forget that in an insular environment like a college campus, he is representing a likely small and already misunderstood community, and putting out such a disturbing message will mar the reputations of his fellow veterans in a way he likely never intended. If the professor or editor had asked him if he was fully prepared to accept responsibility for the images in this essay running through the minds of students and faculty on campus whenever they encounter other veterans in their daily lives, one wonders if he would have still elected to have it published.</p>
<p>Better judgment should have been exercised all around, particularly by the editors of the paper. A response essay by the other veterans who the article mentions might be a good counter-measure, for their own sake as well as the school’s. If it was at my school, I’d write it myself. And the faculty referring him to psychiatric treatment is perfectly reasonable, especially considering the thousands of other student’s safety the school is tasked with maintaining; and the parents, administrators, and safety officials they have to answer to.</p>