Memorial service marks 9/11 fifth anniversary

A memorial service was held at the Kessler Campanile Sept. 11, commemorating the five-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of the people in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and United Airlines Flight 93. The 9/11 Memorial Project Remembrance Ceremony began at 6 p.m. and accompanied the Field of Flags along Skiles walkway, a display of 2,996 American flags representing the lives lost in the attacks.

According to Orit Sklar, a fourth-year Civil Engineering student who helped found the event, it came about from just a few students who wanted to have an annual memorial.

"It is really important for the campus community, both for students who might be from New York or who might have had personal connections to what happened, or to someone... who saw what happened and it changed his life," Sklar said.

After opening remarks by Stephanie Ray, associate dean of students and director of the Office of Diversity Programs, and a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, a poem entitled "Freedom's Source" was read in honor of America's soldiers. Following was Nothin' but Treble, Tech's female A Cappella group, singing a piece called "Come Home Soon". Conner Carolan-Tolbert, a third-year Public Policy major, then introduced the evening's speakers, each of whom had a unique perspective of the events.

The first guest speaker was Jack Feldman, a professor in the School of Psychology. He spoke about the nature of evil and its current manifestation, in his view, in the form of "fanatical Islam". According to Feldman, there is an importance for self-reliance instead of relying on the government to fully protect its citizens from the threats of terror, criticizing the "dependence on any external entity for safety and sustenance."

Second to speak was Chris Puglisi, a fourth-year Civil Engineering student. He is originally from New York and was there during the attacks. He spoke of his firsthand experiences on that day and how that experience affected both him and others in New York City.

Following Puglisi was Angelique Tung, a woman who was on the 78th floor of the World Trade Center's South Tower on Sept. 11, and has since relocated to the Atlanta area. She delivered an account of evacuating the building and the renewed appreciation for life that the experience gave her.

The final guest speaker was Derek Greene, an undergraduate Electrical Engineering major. Greene was a freshman at Tech at the time. He spoke about his initial reactions to the events being full of hatred and a lack of understanding. After the attacks, he enlisted in the US Marine Corps Reserve.

According to Greene, he later decided to focus on hope and positive solutions, vowing to work towards destroying the mindset that spawns this sort of terrorism.

The Tech 9/11 Memorial Project was started in 2003 by Tech students Ruth Malhotra, a graduate student in International Affairs, and Sklar. Joining them in the organization of this year's event was Carolan-Tolbert, who served as a coordinator for the Field of Flags and the ceremony, as well as Ray who served as administrative sponsor for the group.

Carolan-Tolbert said that the organizations that sponsored the event included the Air Force ROTC, the Division of Student Affairs, the Office of Diversity Programs, Residence Hall Association, College Republicans, GT Police Department and the Jewish Student Union.

According to Malholtra, Tech held a remembrance ceremony in 2002 on the first anniversary of the attacks, but that when she realized Tech was not planning on having an ongoing annual remembrance it was up to a group of students to continue the commemoration.

"In 2003 we started up very small with just a few of us students trying to involve the campus community. Since then it's grown every year. It's now a campus wide initiative with the Field of Flags and this year we added the ceremony. It seems to get bigger every year and we're really very grateful to see it continue," Malhotra said.

According to Malhotra, when they started very small back in 2003, they had a vision it would continue annually and are very glad that it has grown every year into a campus wide initiative involving many members of the Georgia Tech community,"

"We would really like to see this continue," Malhotra said.

"There are so many stories to tell. What we heard tonight is just a small piece of everything that happened that day, so I think that if we do this every year it's never going to get [redundant]," Sklar said.