Audible through the solemnity, people spoke faintly and laughed nervously as students trickled into the Commons Plaza to commemorate Sept. 11, 2001. Wading in the same direction, they met in the center with Ray Charles’ rendition of “America the Beautiful” as their backdrop.
“Three years ago, on an evening such as this, crowds gathered around the world in a demonstration of solidarity,” said Michael Cecire, president of Supporters of a Safe Israel, as he opened the ceremony. “It was a moment when we all put aside our petty bickering as a brief memorial for our fallen fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters.”
Students gathered for the candlelight vigil Saturday, the third anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
When the news spread that a memorial had not been organized for Sept. 11, Juston Rose, president of Students for Bush; Mark Brewster, chairman of College Republicans of VCU; and Irina Manelis, vice president of Supporters of a Safe Israel, came together to set up the event. Other participants include Hillel, Muslim Student Association and Student Government Association.
“I hope this gave people the chance to commemorate the events of 9/11 together,” Manelis, 22, said. “Since the event was student initiated and student-run, it was good to see students deciding that they were going to come together as a community, to attend. You feel a lot as a community … and this was a chance to become unified in that message.”
Reuban B. Rodriguez, dean of student affairs at VCU, elaborated on Manelis’ idea of community by speaking about the blending of American similarities and differences in light of Sept. 11.
“We are all one people,” he said. “We are brothers and sisters … only set apart by those who seek to do good and those who seek to do evil.”
Rodriguez said that the traumatic nature of the attacks motivated him to participate in the evening ceremony.
“It seemed as if the entire world was crashing down around us. Over 3,000 Americans had perished in New York City. It was sobering. We didn’t know what would happen yet, or if we would be the next target,” he said.
Ali Faruk, president of the Muslim Student Association, experienced the sobering affects of Sept. 11 three years after the attacks. He said he wasn’t going to speak at the vigil until that morning when he received an e-mail replying to one he had sent about a meeting in honor of Allah. He contacted that person.
“They said that they were offended by my email on the anniversary of the attacks … and by my belief in Allah and the Jihad,” he said. “Then they called me a radical and hung up. This was my first experience with 9/11 prejudice. It still exists three years later.”
While prejudice defines memories of Sept. 11 for some, Mark Brewster, chairman of the College Republicans of VCU, said America’s strength after the attacks made an impact on him.
“America was left with a choice,” he said. “We could cower in fear, or fight terrorism. We chose to fight!”
Brewster’s speech preceded the lighting of the candles.
After the candles were lit Brewster called for a moment of silence, followed by Aimee Bayles’ performance of the “Star Spangled Banner.”
As Bayles sang, some covered their hearts, while others protected their candles from the wind.
Manelis closed out the evening by promoting the support of the International Foundation for Terror Act Victims, which aids the victims of a terrorist attack on school children in Beslan, Russia.
Tim Myint, 21, said the vigil reminded him how much terrorism affects people.
“(Sept. 11) was a great tragedy and we shouldn’t forget about it,” he said.
The sponsors were grateful for the student contributions to the International Foundation For Terror Act Victims, and appreciative of everyone’s support.
Rose from Students for Bush said, “The differences that divide us are far, far outweighed by what unites us.”