Last year, the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, the campus payed tribute with a flyover of fighter jets, recognition for visiting firemen from the Official Fire Department of New York and a halftime tribute show.
We came together as a student body to attend vigils and memorial and similar events all over the community. Several presidents payed a visit to Shanksville, Pa., in addition to other locations affected by the attacks. A memorial to those killed in Shanksville was formally dedicated, also to serve as the site of a national park.
Collectively, the 10th anniversary of 9/11 came with its own heightened meaning unlike the ones that came before: Where do we stand, one decade out, as a nation and as individuals?
Yesterday seemed like a quieter moment of reflection, but the reflection was there — and that’s what’s important.
In one corner of campus, the Theatre Building became a site for remembrance. Under the guidance of professor Charles Dumas, students gave voice to a cast of 12 varying perspectives on Sept. 11, 2001. Elsewhere, another group gathered on the steps of Old Main for a memorial service led by the Penn State College Republicans. There, a freshman recounted his personal connection to the attacks on the World Trade Center. His story of family friends who were killed while working as first responders 11 years ago reminded those in attendance that those lost were “more than just a number.”
A few hours away, in Shanksville, a group gathered again at the site of the now one-year-old memorial.Vice President Joe Biden joined families of those who were killed, among others, for a ceremony that focused on honoring the 40 individuals who made up Flight 93’s passengers and crew.
These events appropriately provided an outlet for students to come together, if they chose to, to honor those lost. These events also underscored the importance of focusing on the human impact of the attacks and the idea that, to many, Sept. 11, 2001 holds no less significance today, on Sept. 12, 2012, than it did yesterday — the impact of the lives lost is still felt.
But not all of us paused to attend formal moments of remembrance yesterday.
Still, many of us carry the memories, now more than a decade old, of sitting in classrooms or being comforted by family members that September morning.
And the campus was inevitably filled with smaller gestures yesterday — trading stories of where we were when we heard the news, looking at pictures of a changed New York skyline, taking a personal moment of silence between classes.
We hope that, at least in small ways, we all took a
moment to remember.
Opinion > Editorial
