WWU to hold Veterans Day ceremony Nov. 10 on campus

Western Washington University students, faculty and staff and community members are invited to a Veterans Day Ceremony from noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 10, in Western's Viking Union Multipurpose Room.

A reception will immediately follow the ceremony. Both events are free and open to the public.

Featured speakers will include WWU President Bruce Shepard, WWU student and WWU Vet Corps Navigator Christopher Brown; WWU Student and Western’s Veterans Community President Jordan Linayao; and Doris Kent, former WWU employee and gold-star mother of the late Cpl. Jonathan Santos.

Vet Corps, in partnership with Western's Veteran Community and the WWU Associated Students Veteran Outreach Center, is holding a food drive starting the day of the Veterans Day Ceremony, and will continue the following week. Please donate only non-perishable food items. Food will be donated to the Combat Veterans International Food Bank, for the area's homeless veterans. To volunteer at a drop box or for more info, contact c.brown@vet-corps.org. Drop boxes will be located in Old Main Room 365, in Red Square and in front of the Wade King Student Recreation Center.

Also in observance of Veterans Day, the Viking Union Gallery will be showing "Warhorse: Wise to Ways" throughto Dec. 3 in VU Room 507.

The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. An opening reception for the exhibit is planned for 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 9 in front of the gallery.

"The exhibition is to celebrate and commemorate Veterans Day, and the art included will surround the topics of war, veterans and the armed forces," said Allie Paul, Associated Students Productions Viking Union Gallery coordinator.

Artists showing work include Western student Gary Liljebeck, Bellingham artist Josh Durias and Seattle artist Jean Nagai.

In observance of the holiday, WWU classes will not be held on Veterans Day on Thursday, Nov. 11; this is also a WWU employee holiday. The ceremony is sponsored by the Veterans Outreach Center, and the reception is sponsored by the President’s Office.

Parking enforcement for this community event has been suspended from 11:30 a.m.–1:45 p.m. This does not include reserved or disability parking spaces. See the campus parking map for lot information. For more information call (360) 650-7545.