Written by Janet Orgain
On Sept. 11, 2001, teachers all over the country told their students, “You will remember this day, this moment, for the rest of your lives.” Today, the Harding University American Studies Institute Distinguished Students asks the question, “What are we doing to remember that day?”On Saturday, Sept. 11, ASI is participating in the Young America’s Foundation’s “9/11: Never Forget” project. Thursday, Sept. 9, ASI students placed 2,977 memorial flags outlining the perimeter of the front lawn to represent the 2,977 lives lost in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Flight 93.”Everyone remembers where they were when they heard about 9/11,” Gabriella Marcellini, ASI executive vice president, said. “I’m glad students are still remembering those who lost loved ones, even nine years later.”Senior ASI member Ben Anderson said he remembers coming home from seventh grade and turning on the television to hear the news.”I just remember being awestruck at what I saw,” Anderson said. “It’s just something incomprehensible, like nothing you could ever imagine.”Anderson said that it is essential for students to remember events from the past in order to learn and grow for the future.”I know college students tend to become secluded from what is really going on throughout our nation,” Anderson said. “We live our own lives and continue with our own things, so having some physical reminder for the day would be a good thing, just to help everyone remember how it made them feel and how it shaped their lives.”Harding is not the only university to remember, ASI President Steven Chandler said. More than 186 other colleges and universities across the country participate in the “Never Forget” project.”I’m glad we here at Harding are participating as many other universities have done in order to remember all those who lost their lives on Sept. 11,” Chandler said. “We cannot afford to forget what an impact that day had on our country’s history, and the impact it will continue to have.”According to Bob Reely, associate executive director of ASI, 9/11 is the demarcation of America’s war on terror that is still going on today.”For your generation, 9/11 is like Dec. 7, 1941, to my generation,” Reely said. “The Cold War started when I was your age, and it affected my entire life. I think 9/11 is going to be like that for your generation.”
