By Chantelle Tuitele
BYU students watch Army ROTC cadets raise and lower the American flag every day right outside the Abraham Smoot Building.
But now, with the Olympic Games come and gone, two BYU Army ROTC cadets can say the world watched them as they raised the American flag.
Cadets Fernando Nunez, 22, a sophomore from Bronx, N.Y. majoring in business management, and Malcolm Fa''atoafe, 19, a freshman from Nu''u''uli, American Samoa, majoring in business, raised the American and Olympic flag in the Opening Ceremonies and lowered them in the Closing Ceremonies.
Nunez also raised the Greek flag while Fa''atoafe raised the Italian one during the Closing Ceremonies.
'It was the first time I got to raise the American flag in front of so many people,' Fa''atoafe said. 'It made me grateful that I live in a free country where everyone is treated equal.'
Nunez and Fa''atoafe were chosen out of 38 Utah Valley State College and BYU Army cadets to be two of five participants in the flag ceremonies of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games.
'Of all the flags, the one I wanted to raise more than anything was the American flag,' Nunez said. 'It was an awesome feeling being able to represent the country by raising the flag.'
Sgt. 1st Class Vic Sylvester, recruiting retention NCO in the UVSC Army ROTC, opened the door for Nunez and Fa''atoafe to be in the Olympic ceremonies.
Since Sylvester had previously done some flag ceremonies for John Cloward, coordinator of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Cloward asked him to find ROTC cadets to particpate.
Cloward said he went to the ROTC, because he knew cadets would fit the part of someone who raises the American and Olympic flags.
'We wanted people who knew what they were doing, and who had proper flag etiquette,' Cloward said.
Sylvester said that after taking pictures of all 38 cadets and e-mailing them to Cloward, the honor of participating in the flag ceremonies was handed to Fa''atoafe and Nunez from BYU, and two other cadets from UVSC.
Cloward said he was looking for cultural variety and a representation of Utah''s diversity.
After the flag team was selected, Nunez and Fa''atoafe found that rehearsals were time-consuming and demanding, but both said it was an experience to remember.
'I''m doing a lot of catch-up work right now,' Nunez said. 'There''s a lot of stress now, but it was worth it.'
The two cadets said meeting people from different cultures was the most memorable part of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
Besides meeting celebrities like Gloria Estefan, KISS, Steve Young and Steven Spielberg, the two cadets also met and spoke with athletes from various countries.
Nunez said the mood of both ceremonies was uplifting. He said everyone seemed to get along very well - athletes, celebrities and volunteers alike.
'It was cool to see everybody trying to interact even though they came from different backgrounds and spoke different languages,' Nunez said. 'It was a big time to be together, forget the conflicts of the world and have fun and be happy.'