In the fall of 1969, Ehrhart attended Swarthmore College at the age of twenty-one. Also during this time the student body at Swarthmore College “was middle class, academically paranoid, politically aware, and the students were anti-war” (Ehrhart 7). This posed a problem for Ehrhart because during the spring of 1968, while Ehrhart was still offshore, the college had asked for a photo of him in his Marine uniform. Ehrhart realized that after he sent the photo, it would be used for the school's freshman brochure while all the confusion existed at the school. He spent most of his days alone to avoid publicity and keep a “low profile.” In October, however, the Phoenix college newspaper reporter asked if he could interview Ehrhart. Ehrhart went to college to live a normal life but after revealing his secret of being a veteran in the school newspaper, he realized he was just a celebrity. After Ehrhart was mentioned in the Phoenix paper, the effect was so polarizing that students would. come check it out. Students would come to his dorm, the library, and interrupt Eahrhart's meals. Ehrhart described the event as “instant stardom” (Ehrhart 9). Ehrhart enjoyed being the center of attention and meeting the entire student body. No one was ever rude to him, and the students seemed interested in Ehrhart's story. Ehrhart just wanted the students to understand his struggles and the struggle that went along with being in the Marines for three years, which played a big role in his life because Ehrhart truly wanted to serve for his country. As time passed, however, Ehrhart realized that “a pattern of the process began to emerge” (Ehrhart 9). Ehrhart began to have doubts about... half the paper... how to even know this veteran. It was all superficial. A veteran isn't really recognized for their courageous effort to defend their country during this time period, but according to Ehrhart you have a folk hero. Popular heroes like John Braxton. John Braxton was considered a hero because he was a senior facing a prison sentence for his open refusal to register for the draft. Basically students like John Braxton and Bill Ehrhart were just objects during this time. They were both celebrities because society allowed them to be celebrities. The students didn't really understand why each individual took the path they did. It was simply convenient to support their troops. After revealing his “secret” identity to the Phoenix student newspaper, Ehrhart lost sight of his identity as a normal person and became just a celebrity or just another figure..