Low Plaza hosted two intimate September 11 memorials this weekend that brought students and administrators together to reflect the terrorist attacks that stunned the nation 10 years ago.
Student Governing Board Secretary Maryam Aziz, CC ’13, performed a spoken-word piece about the “inherent duality” of being a Muslim-American and her strong association with both identities. Aziz called on the country to “break out of these prisons that classify us / by our ethnicities and religions.”
Tyler Trumbach, CC ’13 and executive director of Columbia University College Republicans, said the anniversary is a good time to reflect on the importance of community.
“We have to talk about these things, we have to engage,” he said.
CUCR partnered with Columbia University Democrats to plant 2,819 American flags, one for each victim of the attacks.
“The flags are a visual reminder of how many people died and were affected,” Trumbach added.
Dean of Community Development Terry Martinez said she remembered getting ready for a three-day walk for breast cancer on September 11, 2001, a charity event that was subsequently rescheduled and re-routed away from downtown.
At the vigil, she recounted walking with many people who had been directly affected by the attacks, including a man whose wife was facing a long battle with cancer and whose son died in the attacks.
She challenged Columbians to create the same “community of kindness” inside the gates that she experienced on her walk.
A mini-community formed that night, as students lit candles together and passed their light around whenever another’s flame blew out in the breeze.
Barnard Dean Avis Hinkson spoke about the importance of small actions. At Mills College in California, where she worked in 2001, students comforted Muslim students in the wake of 9/11 by walking them to class, she said. Hinkson called the students heroes for offering assistance “to those not allowed to thrive in the way that they want.”
Roko Rumora, CC ’14 and a class representative, said that for the first time, he thought of “Columbia having to continue living after this happened.” The ceremony gave him a perspective that, as a child growing up in war-stricken Croatia, he said he had never realized. “It showed that other side that as a non-American I never thought of,” he said. “That 9/11 wasn’t only about firefighters and victims, but also about everyday people who were affected in the worst possible of ways.”
The following morning, about 100 people gathered on Low Steps for a symbolic ceremony that emphasized the reflective power of silence.
University Chaplain Jewelnel Davis gave the opening remarks, remembering the day as one during which “ordinary and extraordinary citizens” came together to help friends and strangers.
“May hope rise, may humility inspire, may justice rule, may courage confirm, may understanding grow,” she said in conclusion.
After the St. Paul’s bells chimed at 9:59 a.m.—the time at which the South Tower collapsed—attendees picked up white roses and placed them in the fountains at either side of Low Plaza.
Students then read off the names of the 41 Columbia affiliates who passed away in the attacks ten years ago and the 22 others listed in the program as friends and family of the deceased. After the final name was read, the crowd sat in silence for 15 minutes.
Although the morning began with a bright blue, clear sky—much like on that Tuesday 10 years ago—clouds rolled over in the period of silence. Then, as the 15 minutes were nearly up, two things happened simultaneously: the sun poked back through the clouds, and a chorus of bells from around the city began to reverberate.
The bells of St. Paul’s joined the refrain at 10:28 a.m.—recognizing the North Tower’s collapse—and tolled for the next two minutes without stopping. Then, per Davis’ direction, the crowd dispersed from the plaza in silence, each walking off to continue their Sundays.
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