On The Record - Columbus School of Law

and my mother cried every time I called her.”Upon his return, Campbell was startled, thenoutraged by the treatment he received from his studentloan lender, which demanded that he begin topay up on the $35,000 he had already borrowed for adegree not yet completed.“For three months I received harassing phonecalls and could not get them to stop, no matter howmany forms I filled out,” Campbell explains. “I felt asthough I was being punished because I served mycountry. When I asked for my service to be consideredas mitigating factor, I was told, ‘If you don’t likeour rules, then change the law.’”So he did. Campbell spent his third year of lawschool drafting a veteran’s protection bill that doubledas his thesis for the Law and Public Policy Program.His draft was picked up by a fellow CUA law alumnusworking for Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and aftersome linguistic polishing, S.1718, the VETS bill, wasintroduced. While Campbell is the bill’s first drafter,he credits the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans ofAmerica with tirelessly pushing the measure uphillthrough Congress.“We are unique in addressing the needs of thecurrent generation of service members by being anenergizing force for veterans issues on Capitol Hill, amedia savvy voice representing the challenges facingcurrent service members and an online communityresource helping a geographically diffuse populationof veterans build a community and organize on keyissues,” says Campbell.Campbell himself was one of the savvy mediavoices. He never wasted an opportunity to make thecase for updated veterans’ benefits before the public.Campbell appeared on CNN, MSNBC and othertelevision networks. He phoned in to national radioprograms, was profiled in a half-dozen newspapersand testified before congressional committees.His message was consistent and compelling:America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are beingfought by less then 1 percent of the population. Manycivilians do not understand the level of sacrificerequired from service members and their families.America must be ready to take care of those who haverisked their lives on its behalf when they return home.“Service members and their families, includingme, are still suffering from the effects of combatstress injuries and many have not accessed the carethat they need,” says Campbell. “We need to ensurethat every returning veteran is required to see alicensed counselor when they return. We must build aculture where military heroes understand that seekinghelp is the normal reaction to extraordinary events.”Like so many other veterans, Campbell is hauntedby the overwhelming experiences of death and blood,which he fears are branded into memory forever.“I cope with my struggles by keeping myselfbusy at a breakneck pace. I survived by balancingstudying, personal time and seeking help throughcounseling and church. So maybe I am still back whereI started … working hard to stay busy, but at least I amhelping a few fellow veterans along the way.”Despite the passage of the VETS bill into law,there are other unfinished items for the drivenA newcomer among veterans lobby groups, IAVA has quicklychalked up some impressive legislative victories on Capitol Hill.lawyer-lobbyist. IAVA is hard at work on its 2009legislative agenda, and pressing issues include sufficientfunding for the VA health care system, improvingthe disability claims process and streamlining andsimplifying the new post 9/11 GI Bill.There is also one major provision fromCampbell’s VETS bill that has yet to make it into law:mandatory tuition refunds for unfinished classeswhen a student deploys.For Patrick Campbell, a certified sharpshooterwith the M-16A2 rifle, this unfinished legislative goalis another attainable target. “I will have to turn up theheat on this issue even more over the next twoyears,” he predicts.Fall–Winter 2008 / C UALAWYER 31