WMU HOME > ABOUT WMU > WMU NEWS New citizens take oath at Miller Auditorium June 7, 2004 KALAMAZOO--Some 750 new American citizens will be sworn in at Western Michigan University Tuesday, June 8, when the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service holds a naturalization ceremony in Miller Auditorium. A crowd of several thousand is expected for the event, which will begin at 9 a.m. U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, WMU President Judith I. Bailey and Kalamazoo Mayor Robert Jones are among the officials who will speak during the ceremony to welcome the new citizens. Immigrants from 89 nations will be sworn in. Among them will be an 84-year-old man who was born in Germany and a 77-year-old woman who is a native of Vietnam. Those participating will take the Oath of Allegiance to the United States, which will be administered by U.S. District Court Judge David W. McTeague. The national anthem will be sung by WMU sophomore Elise Althaus, a music education major from Saline, Mich. The presentation of colors will be done by the U.S. Naval Seal Cadet Corps--Windward Division out of Battle Creek, Mich. The ceremony is being coordinated by the Detroit office of the INS, which serves the entire state of Michigan. It is hosted by Upton and WMU's Office of the President. Media contact: Jessica English, 269 387-8400, jessica.english@wmich.edu WMU News Office of University Relations Western Michigan University 1903 W Michigan Ave Kalamazoo MI 49008-5433 USA 269 387-8400 www.wmich.edu/wmu/news