Published on January 13, 2007 by Philip Poole  
Posted by Philip Poole on 2007-04-19

Several hundred Samford University students and employees paused at noon today (April 19) for a simple wreath-laying ceremony and remembrance for the Virginia Tech family.

Samford President Andrew Westmoreland and Student Government Association president Taylor Clement led the brief ceremony on Samford's Centennial Walk as the Rushton Memorial Carillon chimed the noon hour. The simple white wreath included maroon and orange ribbons, the Virginia Tech school colors.

A bagpiper played "Amazing Grace," followed by "Taps," played by freshman music major Thomas Bowen of Birmingham.

"We must remember that this is not the end of our concern for our colleagues at Virginia Tech but rather just a moment for us to demonstrate our solidarity for them at this difficult time," Westmoreland said. "We must continue in the days ahead to pray for our friends everywhere who have been affected by this."

In addition to the Centennial Walk ceremony, some professors stopped classes that were in progress for the moment of silence. Many attending the Centennial Walk ceremony also had been participating in long-planned Earth Day activities on nearby Ben Brown Plaza.

Photos of the ceremony were forwarded to Virignia Tech, which has published an online album of similar events throughout the nation. Samford will present its own album of the ceremony in coming days.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.