On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, members of the University of Vermont community will commemorate the more than 6,200 veterans who sacrificed their lives in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars by participating in Remembrance Day National Roll Call, joining more than 170 campuses across the country.
UVM’s Veterans Collaborative Organization and the Student Government Association are sponsoring the event. UVM is the only Vermont school participating.
Beginning at 7 a.m., 25 UVM students, faculty and staff will read the names of all of the veterans in chronological order, beginning with the first fallen soldier. Each reader will speak for 15 minutes from a podium in front of the Bailey/Howe library. The reading of the names will take about eight hours to complete.
More that 6,000 American flags honoring the fallen veterans will be displayed on the green in front of Bailey/Howe. The Kappa Sigma fraternity will also spread a large canvas near the podium outlining an American flag. Passersby will be invited to place a hand or thumb-print on the canvas using cans of blue and red paint.
At 2 p.m., members of the UVM and surrounding communities are invited to come to Bailey Howe to observe a nationwide synchronized moment of silence. The moment of silence is taking place at the eleventh hour (Pacific Time) of 11-11-11: the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 2011 -- a few weeks after the tenth anniversary of 9-11.
According to Ryan Little, president of the Veterans Collaborative Organization, the National Roll Call both honors those who gave their lives for their country and offers a way for the UVM community to come together over wars that, for many, are remote from their lives.
“Many members of our community, no matter what their political views, are looking for ways to understand and honor the sacrifice that so many veterans have made, and to support the troops that are currently serving,” said Little, a junior in the School of Business Administration who served in Afghanistan. “My hope is that people will note and appreciate the readings during the day, and then come to Bailey/Howe at 2 p.m. to observe the moment of silence.” He added that the flag display is meant provide a dramatic visual for increasing awareness of the number of troops who have died in the wars.
“We are proud to be co-sponsoring this event with the Veterans Collaborative Organization,” said Katie Rifken, a senior psychology major and chair of the SGA’s Legislative Action Committee. “To so many of us, these wars are distant events. This is a way for our community to understand the very real sacrifice so many made and to honor these brave men and women.”
At 3 p.m. the VCO and SGA will host a Veteran’s Day ceremony in Memorial Lounge, Waterman Building. Speakers will include faculty, students, staff and members of the Burlington community. The ceremony will also feature a performance by the UVM a cappella group Zest and a video produced by UVMtv.
The Veterans Collaborative Organization is an SGA-sponsored club that provides services and community for the 77 veterans and 75 dependents of veterans attending UVM.
The Remembrance Day National Roll Call is sponsored nationally by the Veterans Knowledge Community of NASPA Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. NASPA is a 12,000-member association for the advancement, health and sustainability of the student affairs professionals.
Lt. Col. (Ret) Brett Morris, the National Roll Call coordinator, said, “We wanted to rally campus communities across the nation to send a powerful message to the troops currently serving that their peers have not forgotten their sacrifices, or those of the fallen.”