November 15, 2016
St. John's University held Veteran’s Day events on both the Queens and Staten Island campuses in November to honor the men and women who fight and protect our country and the freedoms we cherish.
Events were organized by the University's Office of Community Relations, in collaboration with the Student Veterans Association and the ROTC Red Storm Battalion. The ceremony on the Queens campus, which took place in the D’Angelo Center on November 7, was attended by nearly 200 people, including community and student veterans, faculty, staff, and administrators.
The ceremony began with the SJU ROTC Red Storm Battalion posting the colors and the SJU Mixed Chorus performing the national anthem. Jonathon De la Cruz, Student Veterans Association President, led the Pledge of Allegiance and Sr. Patricia Evanick, a Daughter of Charity, delivered the invocation. Joseph Sciame, Vice President for Community Relations, welcomed the record number of attendees and relayed the history of Veteran’s Day, as well as a greeting from Most Rev. Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop of the Military Ordinariate.
Remarks by Lieutenant Colonel Marci Miller of the ROTC Red Storm Battalion were delivered, while Daniel Brown, the Queens Borough President’s Veterans Affairs Liaison, delivered a proclamation to the Student Veterans Association. Mr. Sciame said that the University currently has more than 400 student veterans enrolled.
At noon on November 11, with a blustery wind and record student attendance, the Staten Island campus community gathered by the Great Lawn to host its Veteran’s Day ceremony. Along with Mr. Sciame, Robert Fanuzzi, Ph.D., Associate Vice Provost for the Staten Island campus, gave a speech focused on the sacrifices made by the men and women in our armed forces.
“As a veteran myself, I am honored to take the lead in these annual ceremonies which celebrate our community relations, for they bring to the core the goodness of the men and women of America who wear the uniform,” Mr. Sciame said. “Our students at St. John’s University learn lessons when in the classroom. On this day every year they see the veterans and their spouses, who in many cases, wear the pride of America. This offers another lesson of life to our students.”