University of Texas at Austin To Commemorate 50th Anniversary Of Campus Mass Shooting

AUSTIN, TX -- University of Texas at Austin officials will stage a re-dedication ceremony to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a sniper's massacre from the iconic Main Building tower -- an event with the dubious distinction of being the nation's first mass shooting on a college campus.

The Tower Garden will be rededicated on Aug. 1 to commemorate the tragedy, and a memorial to the victims will be unveiled. Located just north of the Main Building -- the UT Tower that is the most prominent point of the campus, with a huge clock atop it -- the Tower Garden was dedicated in 1999 in memory of victims of the mass shooting. A plaque in the garden commemorates that dedication.

After murdering his wife and mother, Charles Whitman arrived on campus loaded with weapons -- rifles, a shotgun and handguns -- and made his way to the clock tower. From the penultimate floor just under the clock that served as his sniper's perch, he killed 14 people and wounded 32 others over a 95-minute span. The sniper was finally neutralized when he was fatally shot by Austin police officer Houston McCoy.

At next week's Tower Garden re-dedication ceremony, the clock in the Main Building will be stopped at 11:48 a.m. -- the exact time when the shooting began 50 years ago. The clock will remain stopped for 24 hours and the tower normally bathed in light -- often lit in the school color, orange, in commemorating victories or notable achievements -- will be darkened at dusk to mark the somber commemoration.

The tower was last darkened amid mourning in April over the death of Haruka Weiser, 18, a freshman dance student from Portland killed on campus by a homeless youth.

The Aug. 1 re-dedication event begins at 11:48 a.m. at the Main Mall, followed by a ceremony at the Tower Garden from noon to 12:40 p.m. at the Main Building. Although specifically planned for the campus community, victims and survivors of the tragedy, the event is open to the public.

The official schedule for the event:

• 11:40-11:48: Tolling of the Bells: Tower Carillon
• 11:48 a.m.: Tower Clock stops for 24 hours. Flags lowered on the Main Mall.
• Noon: Bagpiper leads procession from Main Mall to the Tower Garden.
• 12:10-12:40 p.m.: Rededication Ceremony at the Tower Garden. Speakers:
• Gregory L. Fenves, president, UT Austin
• Claire Wilson, shooting survivor, co-chair, Texas Tower Memorial Committee
• James Bryce, UT student witness, co-chair, Texas Tower Memorial Committee
• U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, elected president of UT Austin student body in 1967

>>> Photo by Tony Cantu