SOU Veterans Day events honor and celebrate service members

The Veterans Day holiday falls on a Friday this year, and Southern Oregon University will bookend the day with two events – a flag-raising ceremony to take place on Thursday, followed by festivities at Saturday’s football game.

SOU will be closed in observance of the national Veterans Day holiday on Friday, Nov. 11. It is one of nine dates celebrated on the university’s annual holiday schedule.

This year’s SOU Flag-Raising Ceremony will be from 11 to 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10. It will take place in front of Churchill Hall, at the flag poles located near Siskiyou Boulevard and Wightman Street, and will be led by SOU President Rick Bailey, Jr., Ph.D., a U.S. Air Force veteran. The senior class of football players will be recognized and veterans will be celebrated throughout the football game on Saturday, Nov. 12.. Kickoff is at 1 p.m., and there will be free admission at both gates for all veterans and military-connected individuals with identification cards or veteran status listed on their driver’s licenses.

“Veterans Day is a day for civilians to recognize and celebrate the men and women from all of our military branches,” said Jesse S. Watson, Ph.D., the equity coordinator for SOU’s Veterans & Military Families office – formerly known as the Veterans Resource Center. “Collectively, we need to be intentional about carrying on the spirit of this holiday throughout the year to honor our military-connected community.

“Military service is an oath that each person takes along with the collective vow of each member’s support network,” Watson said. “We are working diligently here at SOU to make our campus community a place that upholds the spirit of Veterans Day, every day.”

The Veterans Day events are an opportunity for the campus community and Rogue Valley neighbors to come together to commemorate those who have chosen to serve and to lift up those loved ones that also carry the weight of service.

More information is available at sou.edu/veterans.