The Griffon News

The holiday season started up with a roar from the crowd at the Light Up Western ceremony on Nov 26 at the Glenn E. Marion Memorial Clocktower.
 
Emily Feger, Center for multicultural education intern said the center for student engagement puts up the lights and arranges for the carols and the warm-up with hot chocolate. The CME does an educational segment on how cultures all across the world celebrate the winter season.

The Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the men’s musical fraternity, sang carols for the crowd to start things off.  The president, Brent Stevens said they entertain at numerous functions around the campus and as a community service at entities like nursing homes with their music.  The audience thoroughly enjoyed taking an active part in singing the responses to Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer (enlightening one audience member who did not know the reindeer games included monopoly).

Katy Schwartz, leadership and campus events intern, said, “This is a good way to start off the holiday season.”  She introduced the keynote speaker Judith Grimes, Dean of student services who wished the crowd all the joys of the season. Grimes said, “This is a wonderful time to think about service either on campus, or when you get home for the holidays, be sure you find someone you can help out.  It may be your family; it may be your friends, it may be someone in the community but this is a great time to look at service opportunities.  We thank you for all your enthusiasm at Western.  Let’s get the lights on!”

The crowd counted down eagerly and the tower and surrounding trees lit up and the full moon glowed.

Jacob Harper, student, said, “I’ve never been to a lighting ceremony before.  I love the hot chocolate.”

The celebration moved to the Blum Student Union where there was a cake with a lovely representation of the lit up clock tower. There was also hot chocolate and hot cider.

Tay Triggs, multicultural education director, said the trees had been decorated before the event in previous years. “This year they made decorating the trees part of the fun.”  Her daughter was enthusiastically caroling in the background.

Some of the faculty and staff provided treats for the attendees.

The members of the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority were decorating the trees as a service given to the Western community. One member, Ashley Welch said, “I love Christmas!”

Natalie Bailey, Center for student engagement intern said, “It’s marvelous.  It’s a great holiday celebration, not only celebrating Christmas. That’s something some people get confused about. It’s more about the whole holiday season; we’re coming together as a campus to celebrate the season.”

No one in the Western community needed to feel left out of the celebrations.  Many people around the world celebrate the season in many different ways.  Some of the holidays are religious and some are connected to the start of the new year or the beginning of the winter season.  Some are local traditions or based on past events. The Multicultural Education Center put out a display that mentioned a multitude of winter celebrations around the world.  Davali, the Indian festival of lights, Christmas, Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, Ramadan, the Muslim holiday and Kwanzaa celebrations were all explained on a series of boards on display.

The Western community hopes that your holidays will be joyous, in every way and in the tradition that means the most to you.