The Yellow Ribbon Program is going red this Friday to celebrate Veteran's Day 2011

Lipscomb University’s Yellow Ribbon Program is going red this Friday to celebrate Veteran’s Day 2011.

 

The Yellow Ribbon Program and the Campus Veterans Organization are working to make Nov. 11, 2011 the best Veteran’s Day on campus so far, by offering several opportunities to show support for America’s active military and veterans, from wearing red T-shirts to cooking chili.

 

In an effort to get the student body more actively involved in Veteran’s Day celebrations, the student veterans will give out 1,000 red T-shirts this week to students, faculty and staff who will wear them on Friday, Nov. 11, making Veteran’s Day a Red Shirt Friday on campus.

 

Red Shirt Fridays are a grassroots movement encouraging civilian advocates to support servicemen and women by wearing red every Friday.

 

The trend started with a few civilians and is now being practiced throughout the nation, said April Herrington, interim director of Lipscomb’s Yellow Ribbon Program. Since Veteran’s Day falls on Friday this year, the veteran students thought it was a great opportunity to introduce Red Shirt Fridays.

 

The T-shirts incorporate the symbols of each military branch. They are available in Herrington’s office, in the lower level of Bennett Campus Center, in the campus life office suite.

 

“Veteran’s Day is really the one day in the entire year that we celebrate the work of the servicemen and women,” said Herrington, a veteran of the Air Force. “So we wanted to get both students more involved this year in recognizing the work of their classmates.”

 

Every student will have an opportunity from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday morning to show their support of America’s military veterans by signing a brick in Bison Square. (In case of inclement weather, students will post Post-It Notes to form an American flag on the main entrance of the Bennett Campus Center.)

 

Finally, student organizations are invited to participate in a chili cook-off at the women’s basketball game at 5 p.m. in Allen Arena. The Lady Bisons will be playing the Air Force basketball team.

 

Coordinators are planning for at least 15 chili-cooking teams, and the public is invited to come out and taste the chili for free and vote on their favorite beginning at 6 p.m., from halftime of the women’s game to halftime of the 7:15 p.m. men’s basketball game.

 

The Yellow Ribbon Program at Lipscomb works to support the military veterans studying on campus through social events, enrichment programs and as a clearinghouse for on-campus services and information. Lipscomb now has 140 military veterans on campus, 110 of which are pursuing a free or discounted education through the Post-9/11 Yellow Ribbon tuition program and Lipscomb’s Yellow Ribbon scholarship program.