Silver Taps

Silver Taps

As an Aggie family, students honor deceased peers on the first Tuesday of every month at Silver Taps. At 10:15 p.m., Aggies quietly gather in the Academic Plaza as the Albritton Tower bells play hymns. At 10:30 p.m., the Ross Volunteer Firing Squad marches in to fire a 21-gun salute, as is typical for a fallen soldier's funeral. Buglers play a special arrangement of Silver Taps from the dome of the Academic Building. The taps are played three times: once to the north, the south and the west. The buglers do not play to the east, signifying that the sun will never rise on the deceased Aggies' life again. "Silver Taps, for me, always give me chills because it shows that no matter how big this campus gets, every single person matters," said Michael Espericueta, outreach awareness sub-chairman for Traditions Council and senior economics major. During the day before Silver Taps, the Traditions Council sets up booths in the Commons, the Quad, Wehner and in front of Koldus where students are provided with cards they can fill out to give to the mourning families.