9/11 Memorial Event

On the evening before the 14th commemoration of the tragic events of 9/11/2001, students gathered in Furst Hall for a memorial run by the undergraduate student councils. The event began with the United States flag at half mast and with a moment of silence for the innocent victims and first responders who perished that day. Then, the student leaders presented a video with clips from morning news before and during the attacks, to get the largely-student audience to connect better to the events being commemorated--many were barely in grade school when the attacks took place. Dr. Karen Bacon, Dean of Undergraduate Faculty of Arts and Sciences, headlined the program, detailing what she remembered happening and the decisive action she took to ensure the student body at the Beren campus stayed safe. She also illustrated the scene as a thick cloud of soot blanketed the city and people came to the Stern campus seeking refuge, food and water and means to contact their families. Dean Bacon was followed by student Baruch Schonbrun, who gave his account of the day and the week leading up to it. He told the story of his father’s miraculous survival and how his father’s experience changed his entire family’s life. The event closed with the recitation of a chapter of psalms and closing statements from YSU President Noam Safier.