http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-652521.mp3
Albany, NY – THE GI BILL, PT. 2, TODAY -
We start the show with this note on higher education in Iraq. A University of Baghdad lecturer talked recently with the French Press and reported that the University was about as normal as possible, given the circumstances. The University says about 90% of registered students do show up for class. That's an increase from just 50% last year. The report also described as good (in relative terms for Iraq) that only two professors and two students have been killed in the last two months.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., some 15-hundred National Guard troops from Iowa
and Minnesota who served in Iraq have complained to Congress that they've been denied their GI Bill educational benefits. These would include up to
$849 dollars a month for educational expenses. Educational benefits are obviously a key tool employed by recruiters.
The Guard complaint has exposed a loophole in the current ruling. The
troops had served 20 months or longer, but their orders were not for 730
days or more of active duty. Many received orders for just slightly less,
725 to 729 days. Congress is now considering legislation that would
eliminate the 730 day requirement. Undersecretary of Defense for
Personnel and Readiness, David Chu, says the problem will be fixed
in time for this coming spring semester.
Last week we told you about the history of the GI Bill after WW II. This
week we focus on the GI Bill today and look at how returning veterans
are, or are not, benefitting from the GI Bill.
Dan Bobkoff reports. (4:08)
FUND FOR VETERANS' EDUCATION -
A new scholarship program has just been created by a New York financier
with 4-million of his own dollars as seed money. Jerome Kohlberg is a
WW II veteran who hopes to assist returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans
in paying for their college. It's called the Fund for Veterans' Education, and
it's meant to fill the void between benefits provided by the GI Bill and the
actual cost of attending college these days. Scholarships will help pay for
tuition, fees, and books. Other foundations, individuals, and corporations
are expected to contribute. The fund is being administered by Scholarship America. Spokesman, Bruce Robbins, says they plan to continue the fund
until Congress passes a new GI Bill that fully covers the cost of attending college.
Dr. Karen Hitchcock reports. (1:00)
SEEING THROUGH MAPS: MANY WAYS TO SEE THE WORLD , Pt. 1 of 2 -
We talked about Iraq and Afghanistan earlier in our show. If you asked
students today to locate these countries on a map, a large percentage
would not be able to, which brings us to our next story. Many of us probably
take maps for granted. After all, we've always had maps in our lifetime, and they're easily accessible. Maps are important for studying things like cultural geography, population migration, global warming, almost anything. Dr. Denis Wood is a writer, artist and social scientist. He's taught high school and
college. He wrote the best-selling The Power of Maps. And one of the
newer map books he's co-authored is Seeing Through Maps: Many Ways
To See The World. Seeing Through Maps goes beyond just cartography.
The book discusses how maps provide information about countries, cultures,
the world's peoples and their history. According to Professor Tom Koch from
the University of British Columbia's Department of Geography in Vancouver, Canada, Seeing Through Maps is the best source available on map projections, their history and importance. This week we look at some history
of map making, and how we tend to think of where we live as being the center
of the world. Next week map usage in classes and how maps can help us understand places like the troubled Middle East.
Glenn Busby reports. (11:44)