Posted 11:36 pm Wednesday, September 12, 2012
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Small crowd shares memories of attacks at candlelight vigil
About 40 candles flickered against the night sky in front of the Riter Bell Tower at The University of Texas at Tyler campus Tuesday night.
A small crowd of mostly students took time to observe a moment of silence and share stories of where they were on Sept. 11, 2001 and its aftermath.
One attendee told the story of a friend of Middle Eastern descent killed in Dallas after the attacks purely because of his skin color. Other students, most of whom were in the second or third grade, remember confusion and panic in their teachers and family members that day.
“Our teacher let us know there’d been an attack in New York and it was going to affect everyone,” said Uroosa Kahlid, a Student Government Association senator and speaker during the candlelight vigil.
Amy Friesenhahn, the association secretary, said the vigil is tradition at the campus and a way for students and the community to commemorate the tragedy and remember the loss.
A small crowd of mostly students took time to observe a moment of silence and share stories of where they were on Sept. 11, 2001 and its aftermath.
One attendee told the story of a friend of Middle Eastern descent killed in Dallas after the attacks purely because of his skin color. Other students, most of whom were in the second or third grade, remember confusion and panic in their teachers and family members that day.
“Our teacher let us know there’d been an attack in New York and it was going to affect everyone,” said Uroosa Kahlid, a Student Government Association senator and speaker during the candlelight vigil.
Amy Friesenhahn, the association secretary, said the vigil is tradition at the campus and a way for students and the community to commemorate the tragedy and remember the loss.
Ms. Friesenhahn, who was in third grade in 2001, said it’s a time for people to share their thoughts and feelings about the attack and everything that’s happened since. The sense of unity the anniversary brings is all the more important now, she said.
“We’re more divided as a people than I would like,” she said. “This is something that everybody can share.”
Ms. Kahlid said the anniversary is a universally binding event that brings people together despite their personal divisions.
“With all the differences in beliefs and politics, 9/11 is something that everyone shares the same feelings about,” she said. “It’s something that brings them together.”
And even though the group may not have been a large one, she said she was glad to see people still commemorating the tragedy.
“It’s important,” she said. “Even 50 years from now, it should still be a day that we remember.”
“We’re more divided as a people than I would like,” she said. “This is something that everybody can share.”
Ms. Kahlid said the anniversary is a universally binding event that brings people together despite their personal divisions.
“With all the differences in beliefs and politics, 9/11 is something that everyone shares the same feelings about,” she said. “It’s something that brings them together.”
And even though the group may not have been a large one, she said she was glad to see people still commemorating the tragedy.
“It’s important,” she said. “Even 50 years from now, it should still be a day that we remember.”
