Sept. 11 marks the 14th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on American soil in 2001, and this year, California Baptist University’s community will be doing its part to pay tribute to the event.
In a similar fashion to last year’s commemoration, the Associated Students of California Baptist University will be passing out American flags to students, faculty and others on campus to be placed on the Stamps Courtyard lawn in the shape of a cross. Prayer will be encouraged throughout the day, and John Montgomery, dean of Spiritual Life, will be closing out the event with a final prayer.
“(We) would like to convey the message that God is above all regardless of the circumstances in our lives,” said Makenna Lammons, junior psychology and criminal justice major and ASCBU president.
The event, officially called “We Remember,” is not CBU’s first homage to the events that took place on 9/11. Trent Ward, CBU alumnus and former ASCBU president, was the first to come up with the idea of a remembrance for last year.
“He was very passionate about putting on events that promote awareness, and as a result, the Sept. 11 event was born,” Lammons said.
The process of planning this year’s event began a couple weeks before school started. The executive council of ASCBU began this process with discussing ideas based on what ran smoothly last year, what did not work so well and what areas needed improvement.
“Once we narrow down exactly how the event should look like, we make a detailed list of what needs to be done and delegate the responsibilities,” Lammons said.
This year, members of ASCBU will start the day out and hand out individual American flags to the CBU community from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday to be placed in a cross formation in Stamps Courtyard. At 7:30 p.m., candles will be lit at two different places on the ground, imitating Ground Zero, where the Twin Towers once stood.
Montgomery will be closing out the evening at 8:15 p.m. with a collective prayer with faculty and students interested in participating.
“Coming together and remembering together is going to be beneficial for those who were alive, a good vivid memory of what happened,” Montgomery said. “But it is also beneficial for those who were very young when it happened so they can see how we remember this and it can be passed to their generation.”
Lammons also recognized the importance of the event and mentioned that sometimes it is difficult to hold such events on college campuses.
“These awareness events are important to incorporate into college campuses because they encourage students to recognize things that are going on outside of their campus,” Lammons said. “Oftentimes, especially at CBU, we get stuck in our campus bubble and rarely pay attention to what is happening on a local, national or global scale.”
Lammons said it is her hope that this will not be CBU’s last commemoration.
“ASCBU would like to establish this event as a CBU tradition,” she said.
