UVA Removed 21-Gun Salute from Veterans Day Celebration Because of ‘Gun Violence in the US’
“Unfortunately with gun violence in the U.S., there was some concern that we would cause a panic if someone heard gunshots on grounds”
The University of Virginia nixed a 21-gun salute, which has historically marked the conclusion of the campuses annual Veteran’s Day celebration.
The Provost’s office cited ‘gun violence in the US’ as a reason for cancelling the salute.
“One is that it would be disruptive to classes and two, unfortunately with gun violence in the U.S., there was some concern that we would cause a panic if someone heard gunshots on grounds,” said UVA President Jim Ryan.
WVIR NBC29 Charlottesville News, Sports, and Weather
Understandably, veterans are upset. More from local news:
The university will still hold a Veterans Day ceremony on Monday, but it will no longer include the 21-gun salute. It’s a decision UVA leaders say will not change.
The Provost’s office, in conjunction with the colonel of UVA’s ROTC program, made the decision. The ceremony marks the conclusion of a 24-hour vigil by ROTC cadets and has included the 21-gun salute for more than a decade.
“One is that it would be disruptive to classes and two, unfortunately with gun violence in the U.S., there was some concern that we would cause a panic if someone heard gunshots on grounds,” said UVA President Jim Ryan.
Veterans like Jay Levine are upset with the decision. Levine went through the ROTC program at UVA and says the 21-gun salute is the ultimate salute to those who have served and passed away.
“I am very disillusioned, very upset, and very surprised that they would make such a decision,” Levine said.
Levine says he will write an email to UVA about his concerns. He hopes talking in a more public setting will help entice more veterans to take action.
“Freedom isn’t free,” Levine said. “There’s a cost and that cost is born by the veterans and the families of those veterans.”
[h/t Cam Edwards at Bearing Arms]
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Comments
They genuinely believe that people of the age to attend college would panic hearing a 21 gun salute on Veteran’s Day? The salutes are distinctive sounding. And good grief if the administration believes the students are so clueless as to whether it ‘is’ Veteran’s day they can do a campus text to students in the morning before the Veteran’s day events.
This has nothing to do with gun violence or students panicing. This is solely a political statement.
The more the left/swamp/islamic axis is exposed, the more on offense they will go.
This is going to get a lot worse before it gets better, but we’d better hold it together, or we’ll find ourselves enslaved.
Lets hope we do not have to rely on this group to defend this country if China decides it is time to go to war.
War? And give up their “made in China” smart phones? Their real problem would be learning Chinese as a first language.
Does anyone else feel that (when you look back in history) some of the worst trouble this nation has faced (internaly), has orriginated on university campusses? Starry eyed phillosophy students, liberal arts majors, and political science junkies see their vision of Utopia and believe that they must force their delusions on the rest of the world. Never considering that the world at large moves on a different axis than their lopsided dreams.
So they believe that by sticking their heads in the sand and pretending that they live in Willy Wonka candy factory all will be well. What will happen when they wake up to the real world?
Oh! Thats right they they become Democrats and run for congress.
Poor little snowflakes would die of fright if they were down here on the first day of dove season.
I hope these poor Snowflakes never have to live in a Democrat run city.
Well, maybe they will just assume that all of their neighbors are incredibly patriotic?
Someone needs to explain to these pointy heads that if not for young men with guns, we would be speaking German and 85 years into a 1000 year Reich. Also, lay off the Soy Lattes.
If they still desire a “safe space”, I suggest Basic Training. One of the safest places in the world.
For the student body of U of V… maybe even airsoft is just too dangerous. Imagine the shock of finding a discarded Guns & Ammo magazine (paper) on a sidewalk! Horrors!!
After I read about that yesterday, I went to the shooting range on my property and shot 21 rounds in honor of those who have served. The president of the University of Virginia is a despicable piece of shit.
““One is that it would be disruptive to classes and two, unfortunately with gun violence in the U.S., there was some concern that we would cause a panic if someone heard gunshots on grounds,” said UVA President Jim Ryan.”
The same “gun violence” that’s been declining steadily nationwide since the 1990s? Why is that a problem now?
I do not disagree with ridiculing snowflakes, but the Veterans ceremony only has been going on for a decade?
What were they doing before that, if anything?
Why does it matter?
Only peripherally.
If this had been a part of the schools ceremonies going back to the first Armistice Day, then the change would be questioned differently. When the three volley salute only goes back a decade, then it would seem that the volley was not previously needed or felt that it was not needed by prior ROTC and college staff. And it starts drifting off-topic to discuss why it was only needed starting then.
It sounds like the ceremony is older, but they only added the salute recently. Cancelling it would be no big deal if it were done for a legitimate reason, but this is not it.
Disruptive to classes? Why are there classes going on at that time? Making attendance mandatory may be going too far, but at least there shouldn’t be any other activities on campus for the duration of the ceremony.
You are right.
Classes on a Federal Holiday honoring veterans is disrespectful of veterans.
Any classes held on Veterans’s Day deserve to be disrupted, even if the students don’t boycott them.
A couple of years ago, I asked my school board member why he was dissing veterans because Veterans’ Day was a holiday for students and teachers, but not staff? Since then, it has been a holiday for all.
You mean there should be no classes all day?! Why? Let there be classes, but not during the school’s official memorial ceremony.
Where is Kent State when we need it?
http://www.canadafaq.ca/when+did+canada+become+a+country/
REALLY F*** YOU ALL
Battle of Vimy Ridge.
http://www.canadafaq.ca/when+did+canada+become+a+country/
Here come the Canadians.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=g1awwAgU_t8&feature=emb_logo
“You speak so lightly of war”
The hell whole.
These snowflakes need to spend an afternoon putting flags out in a veteran’s cemetery to honor those who served so they can go to classes in a free country. They are CLUELESS!!!!!!
I know this is not the point of the post and I’m really just picking nits, but this is driving me nuts.
A three volley rifle salute is NOT a 21 gun salute, even if there are 7 members in the firing party for a total of 21 shots.
It’s a three volley salute. It doesn’t matter how many members are in the firing party, the significance is the three volleys, not the number of individual shots.
A 21 gun salute is not made with rifles, it’s made with canons and it’s not in memory of someone, it’s in honor of a visiting dignitary. In fact, the full 21 gun salute is reserved only for heads of state. Lesser dignitaries receive gun salutes of lower number (19 gun, 17 gun, etc)
The three volley salute in honor of fallen comrades and the 21 gun salute in honor of visiting heads of state are two completely different military traditions with different histories, conducted in different ways and for different purposes.
It may seem like just semantics, but details are important and these types of things are not hard to find out in this day and age of instant information.
Good point. I did wonder about that, but assumed that the language has drifted and a term taken from one context is now being used differently in a different context.
We are in so much trouble if we get invaded. I am sure every evil and greedy regime on the planet is drooling at news like this about all the weak minded, spineless leftist snowflakes afraid of guns!