Inspired by the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C., a new memorial to honor “Fallen Bulls,” or those who died during their enrollment at USF, will feature a reflection pool, fountain and a granite wall of engraved names.

Late last week, members of Student Government (SG) broke ground for the memorial on Crescent Hill behind the Marshall Student Center.

SG senator Evan Brown said the groundbreaking represented the culmination of  a year’s worth of work between the three SG branches and USF administration.

“It’s one of the biggest things that we, the Student Government, have done in at least the past couple of years,” he said.

The SG Senate passed the bill funding the memorial’s construction unanimously in March, allocating $349,800 from student paid Activity and Services fees.

The proposal was brought forth because of the neglected state of the current memorial between the USF bookstore and Marshall Student Center, which SG senator Abdool Aziz said poorly honored the deceased.

“It marks a new chapter from moving from a small space, from a corner to a defined space that is a place to reflect,” Aziz said. “(Students who visit the memorial) know that this is sacred and they won’t be interrupted by skateboarders or anyone else.”

Members from SG, USF administration, Student Affairs, Veteran Services, the Alumni Association and took shovels to the ground simultaneously to mark the event.

Brown said this was to exemplify a unity of SG, faculty and alumni over a common cause.

“It symbolizes a good amount of work we put in the past year,” Brown said. “The student body can look forward to projects like this in the future.”

Construction is projected to start during the summer and a ribbon cutting is expected upon completion around the middle of the fall semester. 

“The past student memorial was little more than a bunch of bricks in the ground,” Brown said. “Fallen students in the history of USF deserve something timeless.”