WCU Remembers Alumnus Michael Horrocks on the 25th Anniversary of 9/11
Additional Campus Events to Honor Those Who Lost Their Lives
West Chester University (WCU) will honor the 25th Anniversary of 9/11 with several events, including a tribute to alumnus and WCU football player Michael Horrocks ’85, who was the co-pilot of United Airlines Flight 175, the second aircraft to strike the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Horrocks is memorialized with a statue that was erected at WCU’s John A. Farrell Stadium. A tradition has grown around the statue in which WCU football players touch the toe of the Horrocks statue as they take the field for home games.
On Saturday, September 12, at the 6 p.m. home opener football game against IUP, the stadium will share a moment of silence for Horrocks and the other Americans who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. A post-game film tribute for Horrocks is also planned.
Separately, WCU will present fireworks post-game to celebrate the season’s home opener.
Additional 9/11 Events on the WCU Campus Include:
Student Veterans Group Hosts 9/11 Memorial Ceremony Friday, September 11, from 9 to 10:30 a.m., Academic Quad. (rain location Emilie K. Asplundh Concert Hall)The WCU Student Veterans Group will host a ceremony to commemorate the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Members of both the campus community and the public are invited to pause, reflect, and remember.
Chief Josh Lee from the West Chester Police Department will be the guest speaker. Jeremy Ruspantine, secretary for the WCU Student Veterans Group and a WCU undergraduate social work major, will speak from a dual perspective. Ruspantine was a high school student in class on September 11, 2001; he later served in Iraq at FOB Rustamiyah as a U.S. Army paralegal specialist in 2008.
Wells School of Music Presents 10th Annual Concert on the Quad. Friday, September 11, from 7 – 9 p.m., Academic Quad. (rain location Emilie K. Asplundh Concert Hall)WCU’s 10th annual Concert on the Quad will invite the campus and surrounding community to enjoy a free evening of music featuring ensembles from the University’s esteemed Wells School of Music. As part of this year’s program celebrating America’s 250th anniversary and the season’s football home opener, the WCU Symphony Orchestra will perform Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings as a musical tribute marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11. The orchestra will also perform Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, narrated by West Chester University President Laurie Bernotsky. Performances from the Criterions Jazz Ensemble and the Incomparable Golden Rams Marching Band are also on the program.