A three-by-five foot section of grass will be removed from the northeast corner of the Memorial Student Center Complex lawn at 12:30 p.m. Friday and transferred to the Bonfire Memorial.
There will be a formal ceremony that will begin at 6 p.m. in MSC 201 to commemorate the history of the MSCC and start the Countdown to Construction program.
Opening remarks will be made by University President Elsa A. Murano. Class of ’86 Denis Davis-Mayfield will be the keynote speaker. Mayfield will speak about the changes the MSCC has undergone throughout the year and the different meanings the building has had for different people.
The grass will not be considered a memorial during the renovation process.
“Basically, the building is being turned from memorial status into construction status,” said MSCC President Stephanie Burns, a senior animal science major. “It’s the same thing they do in Washington for monuments and other things.”
A final Yell Practice will take place in Rudder Plaza immediately after the ceremony, followed by a 1950’s-style dinner will in the 12th Man Cafeteria. Meal plans, dining dollars, credit cards and cash will be accepted for dinner, and free coke floats will be provided.
“It’s supposed to commemorate the 1950s, when the building was opened,” Laden said.
The MSCC Council will continue to provide the programs and services it has been, just from difjust from different offices. One of their main concerns will be maintaining the spirit of the MSC while students are not occupying the building.
“Something we can do is keep incoming students informed. We’re going to have to teach the tradition,” Burns said.
Burns said the ceremony is not going to be about the building closing.
“It’s going to be about how we’re going to preserve the memorial, preserve the traditions. It’s the people who have made the MSC so special, not the bricks and walls,” Burns said.
Countdown to Construction is a project to commemorate the history of the MSCC. It will begin at the conclusion of Friday’s ceremony with slideshows of the memories and contributions of students throughout MSC history, said MSCC executive Collin Laden, a junior international studies and Spanish major.
The video will be projected on a screen during the ceremony and on a mounted television hanging near the MSC Bookstore. Footage will run on this television through August 15, when the MSC will officially close.
Throughout the day, students will be able to visit a historical display of MSCC artifacts in the MSC Flagroom. Documents and photographs will be included, and will be part of one of the slideshows during the ceremony.
Laden said they went through The Battalion archives and Cushing Library archives to put together the presentations.
A memory box will be set up in the MSC. Submitted memories will be displayed after construction is completed so incoming students will know more about the history of the building.
“We’re really going to celebrate the history of the MSC [during the ceremony],” Laden said. “Students can hear about how it’s changed, the accomplishments of students, see the spirit of the MSC and … see how that spirit will live on.”