By: Matthew Myers, Staff Writer
Starting on Monday, Nov. 5, Wingate’s Student Veteran Organization and EKS are launching a week-long campaign for veterans awareness. Spearheaded by SVO and Friends of the Library, Veterans Week is promised to be filled with opportunities so that students may learn and have a better understanding of our military personnel.
Five lyceums will be held throughout the week. On Monday, Brigadier General Powell, Chief of Staff for the Army National Guard and father of Wingate student Taylor Powell, will be speaking about his career and service to others.
Marine Corps veteran, and author, Tracy Crow will present Lyceums on Tuesday and Wednesday covering her literary works. Crow will also conduct a workshop on Thursday, Nov. 9 about cathartic writing.
Thursday evening the campus will welcome Bonnie Amos, wife of the former Commandant of the Marine Corps, to discuss her 42 1/2 years as a military spouse. Her husband, General Amos, was the guest speaker on Founder’s Day 2017, and they have had a Wingate scholarship for grad school established in their honor.
Friday night, in McGee theatre, the SVO will be screening American Sniper and conducting a panel discussion/Q&A with student veterans who have served overseas.
Additionally, there will be interactive displays and events, daily, from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. outside Starbucks with SWAG for those students who participate. The events will vary and are subject to change, but students will be exposed to various elements of military life.
Saturday will be the “bookend” for the week as Tailgating for the Troops will be at the football game having banners signed to send overseas and SVO will be announcing the winner of the corn hole board raffle at halftime.
What should students expect to get out of this week? According to Gordon Sprague with SVO, “Students should expect to get out of this what they put into it. It sounds cliché, however, that is a cliché that is ingrained into every recruit from the first day of basic training. The end goal for the week is to provide a unique insight to students unfamiliar with the military. It is our hope that they become more aware of the adversity faced and diversity brought to the university by veterans.”
Veterans Week is not limited to students. According to Sprague, “If students have friends, family, or community members that are veterans and/or supporters of the military that would like to attend any of these events, make sure they invite them.”
Edited By: Rachael Robinson
Wingate Triangle 