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Seniors given chance to tour Beaumont Tower for senior week

April 22, 2014

Tower Guard members served as guides for a tour of Beaumont Tower, in conjunction with Senior Week at MSU.

Photo by Sierra Lay | The State News

The tour, put on by the University Activities Board, or UAB, in conjunction with senior week, featured every floor of the monumental tower.

For political theory and constitutional democracy and social relations and policy senior Morgan Campbell, the tour was a must-see before she leaves MSU.

“It seems like such a staple,” Campbell said. “It’s a symbol of MSU.”

Inside the tower, visitors were greeted by a Tower Guard member, giving them an overview of the floor on which they currently stood.

Tower Guard is a service oriented organization dedicated to aiding the MSU Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities.

Tower Guard public relations chair and advertising sophomore Sarah Ombry said the tower tour is symbolic of the journey from freshman to senior at MSU.

“You’re climbing up the stairs and you’re a freshman and you’re learning,” Ombry said. “This could be, for seniors, the start of their life ... they’re going on to the real world.”

Beaumont Tower is just one stop on a senior bucket list compiled by the members of UAB.

For seniors, this may be the first and last time they climb the steps of Beaumont Tower. With its central location on campus, robust chiming bells and old traditions, Beaumont Tower is a popular destination for those on their way out.

“It’s this monument that you pass by ... you’ve passed by this monument every day for the past four years,” Ombry said.

After walking the 72 steps to the carillon room, visitors watched the bells of various sizes ring out as Williamston, Mich., resident Sally Harwood played the large instrument.

Harwood, who began playing the carillon at MSU in 1996, said she enjoys playing for the seniors as they tour the Beaumont Tower.

“It’s nice if you have a hobby and people are interested in it,” Harwood said. “There are so many that haven’t seen (the instrument.)”

Psychology senior Heather Levi said she enjoyed the tower tour, but it made her sad.

"(Beaumont Tower is) the first thing you notice about campus and then you get to see the inside at the end (of your time here),” Levi said.

International relations senior Maria Gouzos said she couldn’t leave MSU without seeing the inside of Beaumont Tower.

“You might never have the chance again,” Gouzos said.

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