On Friday, Feb. 1, 2019, Union University celebrated its 196th anniversary. To commemorate the occasion, the university held a birthday lunch, complete with delicious food sampling tables, balloons, students singing “Happy Birthday” to their university and part-time home, an appearance from Buster and a cake cutting from Dr. Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver, the president of Union.
A line of students that filled the entire Student Union Building anxiously awaited for the doors of Brewer Dining Hall to be opened, signaling the first of all the birthday festivities. The event served a packed cafeteria of students and faculty.
The food was plentiful, and backpacks were packed with free pre-packaged snacks for the following days. During the event, students were able to enter their names to win gift cards and other prizes, and one of the winners was Hayden Rash, a sophomore cell and molecular biology major and member of ATO.
Gabby Morocco, a junior psychology major and Union’s SGA president, greeted the students and cut the cake alongside Oliver.
“It’s kind of traditional for the president of the university and the SGA president to cut the cake together, so that was very cool,” Morocco said. “That was probably my highlight.”
The celebration for the university also reminded students of the privilege they have in being able to be open about their faith and love for Christ. The university has always made it known that they want their students growing and being strong in their faith.
“One thing I appreciate about Union is the Christ-centeredness, and I know we celebrated the birthday, but it’s also really cool to be able to be in an environment where we can celebrate our Christianity and celebrate a school where we can worship God,” Morocco said. “Lately I’ve been thinking about how privileged we are to be able to open our Bibles in class and to be able to read it and talk about it.”
In celebrating Union, we also look to the future with great expectations that match what we are privileged to have now.
Photo by Riley Boggs
