April 17, 2009

Golden Taps ceremony to honor 10 Purdue students

Families and friends of the students, along with the general public, are invited to gather at 9 p.m. in the Purdue Memorial Union Great Hall. Dean of Students L. Tony Hawkins will greet those in attendance. The group will then move to the Unfinished Block P in Academy Park outside Stewart Center for the brief outdoor ceremony.

"This ceremony gives families, friends and fellow students a chance to remember, honor and reconnect with their loved ones," Hawkins said. "Golden Taps allows us to commit to memory the bright lives of fellow students that ended too soon. These students will always be remembered as a part of Purdue University."

The students who will be remembered are Michael Kenneth Allen, a junior in the College of Engineering from Fremont, Calif.; Elliot Brumm, a sophomore in the College of Consumer and Family Sciences from Cornelius, N.C.; Luke A. Mehringer, a senior in the College of Technology from Jasper, Ind.; Gavin Montgomery, a freshman in the Undergraduate Studies Program from Noblesville, Ind.; Patrick R. Odgers, a sophomore in the College of Liberal Arts from Ramona, Calif.; Mark David Radcliffe, a summer 2008 candidate in the Building Construction Management Distance Master's Program from Media, Penn.; John M. Romine, a junior in the College of Agriculture from Hope, Ind.; Jeffrey Brandon Sims, a freshman in the College of Technology Statewide Program at Columbus, Ind., from Columbus, Ind.; Daniel Z. Song, a senior in the College of Engineering from Carmel, Ind.; and Bradley Philip Trifone, a freshman in the College of Technology from Glen Ellyn, Ill.

Purdue University Bands will perform at the ceremony site, where memorial cards will list the names of the students being remembered. The Gimlet Leadership Honorary will ring a bell once for each student being honored, and Purdue Student Union Board members will light candles. There will be a few moments of silence for personal reflection.

Following the playing of taps, the Purduettes will perform the "Purdue Hymn." The Boilermaker Special, the university's official mascot, will stand nearby in silent tribute.

After the ceremony, a reception will take place in Purdue Memorial Union, Room 118. During the reception, President France A Córdova will present to families a personalized certificate and a replica of the Unfinished Block P, provided by Iron Key.

Golden Taps, a collaboration of the Office of the Dean of Students, University Residence Hall and the Purdue Student Union Board, has been a tradition on campus since 1994. It was previously held in the courtyard at Cary Quadrangle and on the steps of Hovde Hall. This is the first year the event will be held at the Unfinished Block P sculpture.

On Wednesday (April 22), a memorial service also will be held to remember Purdue staff members who died during the past year. It will take place at 3:30 p.m. on the steps of Hovde Hall.

Writer: Christy Jones, (765) 494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu

Sources: L. Tony Hawkins, 765-494-1239, lthawkins@purdue.edu

Lou Ann Hamilton, assistant dean of students, 765-494-1252, lahamilton@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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