Megan Orth
A little bit of rain wasn’t going to get in the way of one of the most beloved traditions of MSU’s oldest continually operating campus-based student organization, Tower Guard. May Morning Sing is an important staple for all members of Tower Guard, even if they don’t realize it right away.
Part of the tradition of May Morning Sing is that new Tower Guard members are unaware that they are going to an induction ceremony for themselves. Friends and family are responsible for convincing students to traipse to Beaumont Tower during the wee hours of the morning to attend the surprise ceremony. Often excuses of birthday surprises for other friends are used as motivation to bring students to Beaumont where they learn the surprise is indeed actually for them!
Parents and inductees await the start of the ceremony (while it is still dark outside, talk about early!)
Finals and graduation at MSU fall around the first week of May, and as such May Morning Sing has been held in April in recent decades while still keeping the old name. The rain on the morning of April 19, 2013 did prevent the ceremony from taking place at Beaumont Tower, but this did not dampen the excitement and pride felt by Tower Guard members past and present.
The Union hosted the induction instead, featuring a performance by the Spartan Discords as well as speeches from Trustee Brian Breslin, Associate Provost Douglas Estry, Tower Guard Advisor Dr. Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore, MSU students Jordyn Castor and Jennifer Dorsch who worked with Tower Guard and benefited from their services, 2012-2013 President Joey Etienne, and Tower Guard advisor and past president Kent Dell.
Speeches were made during the morning, and after new inductees received flowers and congratulatory remarks.
Dell told the nearly eighty new inductees that they were chosen to be a part of this prestigious organization in part because of their academic excellence as part of the top 5% of the freshman class, but even more so because of their “potential to be leaders worthy of representing The Pioneer Land Grant College.”
Surrounded by family and friends, students listened as Dell elaborated that as the first Land Grand College, MSU was “the first institution dedicated to the ideal that life could, and should, be improved through education”, and dedicated to the fact that everybody should have the opportunity to do so.
Linking it to the services that Tower Guard members provide at RCPD, Dell articulated that Tower Guard members “have dedicated our lives to service…We believe that everyone has the right to improve his or her life through education and we help the RCPD in making that right accessible.”
“But, above all, we believe in building a better world through serving our fellow man.”
This is evidenced clearly through the important work that Tower Guard members do in collaboration with RCPD. After the excitement of May Morning Sing, new Tower Guard members learned in more detail what their work with the RCPD will entail during their sophomore year.
New inductees learn about the details of Tower Guard after the initial ceremony!
This summer, many members will experience firsthand what the work will be like, as they receive training from Tower Guard liaisons Tom Hwang, an RCPD specialist, and Anna Osborn the Alternative Testing Coordinator.
Trainings are offered in both the first and second summer sessions for any new Tower Guard members who are in town during the summer. All Tower Guard members must complete a session in the fall prior to their time spent on RCPD related projects.
The sessions provide hands-on experience with reading or scribing for students who are blind, reading exams, and producing E-text. Students are introduced to the Myprofile system to acclimate themselves with how one signs up for exam reader services.
According to visual impairment and media specialist Tom Hwang, “the training is required so that each Tower Guard member is aware of and equipped with the skills to provide quality services.”
Once the school year begins and all of their trainings are finished, Tower Guard members will be ready to complete the required 120 hours of volunteer service to RCPD students throughout the year.
New Tower Guard members soon learn that May Morning Sing was just the exciting beginning of their fulfilling year with Tower Guard and MSU RCPD.
