Texas A&M To Dedicate Spirit Plaza April 23
Honoring several cherished traditions, Texas A&M University will dedicate the new Spirit Plaza Tuesday, April 23 at 10 a.m. during a special ceremony on campus.
Spirit Plaza will be located near the Academic Plaza in the heart of campus and will commemorate the solemn Aggie traditions of Muster and Silver Taps. In addition, descriptive markers will highlight the Aggie Honor Code and the school’s Core Values that have been passed down from previous Aggies since the school was founded in 1876.
The project is a gift from the Class of 1969 to celebrate its 50th anniversary, and the Classes of 1972, 1991, 1995 and 2019 are also involved in the Spirit Plaza concept.
Speakers at the event will include John Sharp, chancellor of The Texas A&M University System, and Texas A&M President Michael K. Young.
Members of the Class of ’69 say the plaza “will be a place where the future will continue to unfold in our most sacred traditions…a place that binds all Aggies together and reinforces our values that transcend generations.”
Organizers say excerpts of a letter written by Texas A&M freshman Donald Coward in October of 1968 to his parents will be read during the ceremony.
Coward wrote the letter after witnessing his first Silver Taps ceremony and was deeply moved by the proceedings, saying he had “experienced what Texas A&M is all about.”
Sadly, three weeks after he wrote the letter, Coward and two of his fellow Aggies, John Groves and George Reynolds, were all killed in a car accident near Denton, Texas. Their names were subsequently read at Silver Taps and Muster ceremonies.
Media contact: Lesley Henton, lshenton@tamu.edu.
