By Maya Lifton

Image courtesy of veteransforpeace.org

This week, California State University San Marcos will host an installation commemorating military members and civilians that have perished during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This commemoration, the Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial to Life, will be held on campus October 25-28, and will be sponsored by the Human Development Club, as well as a co-curricular grant from the USUAB fund, the Cross Cultural Center, Student Life and Leadership and the Women’s Studies Department.

There will be a memorial displayed across campus designed to acquaint students with the high number of deaths that took place in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the event organizers. There will also be related speakers during University hour (from noon to 1 p.m.) on October 26 and 28. The memorial is set up to include information about each individual that has died, such as names, city of residence, birth and death dates. The group has set up markers with 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper that are meant to represent approximately 100,000 deaths.

Military issues often hit close to home for CSUSM students, who include several student veterans and military family members. A U.S military veteran who served in the Vietnam War had the idea for this event. His goal is to make the public aware of the number of people that died during the wars, and as result, to hopefully promote peace and healing.

If you want to volunteer, get involved, or donate to the event, you can also email [email protected], and ask for information on what kind of positions are available, or where you can make your donations.