Moorpark College will celebrate this Sept. 11 with a day of 60’s music, hands on activities, and a 50-foot-long cake to commemorate Patriot’s Day and the College’s 50th Anniversary.
“There will be a celebration of the actual date upon which classes started 50 years ago,” said College President Luis Sanchez. “It will be a fun filled day, but it starts on a reverential note.”
Moorpark College’s Commemoration and Celebration will feature a flag raising ceremony and guest speaker in honor of Patriot’s Day, the mourning of September 11. Shortly after, a birthday celebration will be held where students can enjoy ice cream, cake, a writing wall, music and a special presentation regarding the history of the campus.
“Fifty years is a milestone,” said President Sanchez. “It would be a shame to have that day come and go and not celebrate it. We’re trying to pay reverence to the solemn occasion of Sep. 11 while not neglecting the anniversary of our College’s founding fifty years ago.”
The 9/11 commemoration will begin with a ceremony and speaker from the Veteran’s Resource Center at 8:15 a.m. at the flagpole. The flag will be raised at 8:45 a.m., in remembrance of the time when the first plane hit the World Trade Center.
The birthday celebration will kick off an hour later, at 10:00 a.m., filling the quad and campus center with 60’s music and retro attire to appreciate the first time Moorpark College welcomed its students on September 11, 1967.
The event’s activities will be sponsored by Moorpark College based groups and organizations. A writing wall, organized by the MC Writing Center will encourage students to express themselves. Moorpark College’s radio station, KMCJ, will be playing 60’s music and holding interviews. In addition, an ice cream truck and personalized crafts will be sponsored by the newly funded MC Maker Space.
“We received a grant from the State Chancellor’s Office to create environments where our students will make things with their hands,” said Luis Sanchez. “Monday is a way to celebrate and kick start the Maker’s Fair movement on campus.”
MC Maker’s Space will be using this event to debut their creative workshop, where students will be able to use an available 3-D laser printer and use crafts to make a reflection on both 9/11 and Moorpark College’s 50th Anniversary, in room 144 of the Campus Center.
“It involves an array of different types of equipment and machinery, as high tech as a 3-D printer or a laser cutter or a mill, but it’s also as low tech as sowing machines, hot glue guns, and just any type of building materials with working tools and such,” said Clare Sadnik, the coordinator of the new Maker Space.
Following the hands on activities, a presentation regarding the history of Moorpark College will highlight what has made our campus into the special one it is today. It will be given by History professor Patty Colman, at 1 p.m.
“I think it’s important for all of us to understand our history, national and local,” said Colman. “Seeing all the work that went into making this college great will hopefully inspire students to take an active role in furthering that greatness.”
