More than 17,000 people are expected to come together on campus to attend Muster April 21, and in order to accommodate such a large number of people, logistic coordinators have been working to ensure things run smoothly Friday evening.
Because of the large attendance Muster annually warrants, extensive planning has gone into seating and parking arrangements.
Families of Aggies who have passed, students and faculty will gather to commemorate the lives of Aggies, according to Muster Program Executive Carly Morrison.
“We are expecting a full house of Aggies to be there and say ‘Here’ for the Aggies that have gone before us and we hope that we are able to see a large part of our student body there next Friday,” Morrison said.
The doors of Reed Arena will open Friday at 5 p.m. for the 7 p.m. ceremony. Families of Aggies who will be commemorated have a reserved parking area in Lot 100 G, surrounding Reed Arena. The remainder of Lot 100 and surrounding parking lots and garages will be open for Muster attendees.
Families of the Aggies who will be commemorated will sit on what is referred to as “the block,” or the floor of Reed Arena. Their seating arrangements are organized by the class year of the Aggie they are representing. Candles will be distributed to one member from each honored family, serving as a symbol of remembrance and comfort.
“We want people to come to Reed Arena, especially families and students, and just have Muster happen … We want them to have the best experience possible and it be as easy for them as possible,” said Katy DeLeon, biomedical sciences junior and Muster Programs Executive.
Students will be seated on a first-come, first-serve basis and are encouraged to arrive around 6 p.m. to be guaranteed a seat in Reed, Morrison said.
“Everything is open to students, except for sections 104 and 105, which are for invited guests, like the deans of colleges and stuff like that,” DeLeon said. “It is closed to students until 6:45 and then it is open to fill in the gaps, because we want to fit in as many student into the arena as possible.”
Due to the large amount of expected attendees, Rudder Auditorium has been reserved as an overflow location for students to be directed when the seats in Reed Arena fill up completely. Muster will be live-streamed in the auditorium, allowing for more students to experience Muster, Morrison said.
“We just wanted to give people another option to have seats to watch Muster live,” DeLeon said.
The University Police Department will have a small presence during the ceremony to supplement the comfort and fluidity of the evening. With such a large crowd of people, Muster Committee requested police presence for general safety, said Lieutenant Chad Houston of the University Police Department.
“We’re not anticipating anything … but we’ll have officers right there on the scene that can address any [situation] right away,” Houston said.
DeLeon hopes for the combination of Muster Committee’s efforts to coordinate logistics will result in an impactful ceremony that runs smoothly to commemorate the lives of Aggies who will be honored.