Texas A&M University’s Silver Taps will be held Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 10:30 p.m. to honor Matthew Anthony Calderon, a junior electronic systems engineering technology major from San Antonio who died Oct. 19.
The Silver Taps ceremony will be held in person at the Academic Plaza. To honor Calderon’s memory, the campus will be darkened at 10:20 p.m. Students, family and friends will gather in the plaza in front of the Academic Building in silence. At 10:30 p.m., an honor guard from the Ross Volunteer Company will march slowly to the plaza where its members will fire three rifle volleys.
For those who cannot attend in person, the Division of Student Affairs will broadcast a special premiere of Silver Taps on its YouTube channel at 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 6. Visit tx.ag/SilverTapsPremiere for the Silver Taps virtual experience.
Those who wish to send condolences to Calderon’s family may send an email to tcsilvertaps@aggienetwork.com or drop a letter in one of four memorial boxes located on Academic Plaza, MSC 12th Man Hall, Rudder Plaza or the Quad.
Silver Taps was held for the first time in 1898. Since then, it has been held on the first Tuesday of each month September through April, if necessary, following a student’s death. It is one of the final tributes held for any current professional, graduate or undergraduate student who has died during the year.
By Veronica Gonzalez Hoff, Texas A&M University Division of Student Affairs
