Turning history into hope: the 9/11 memorial
Amy Bauer
Issue date: 9/17/09 Section: News
As hundreds of American flags shone out against the grey sky above the Great Lawn, a small group of students gathered together to remember and pay tribute to the lives that were lost eight years ago.
The weather reflected the somber atmosphere inside Egner Memorial Chapel on Friday, Sept 11th. The ceremony began with a welcoming speech from Peter Bredlau, Muhlenberg Chaplain, and an introduction by Student Body President, Jon Falk. Falk, '10 spoke to the students, urging them to reflect on their memories of that fateful day.
For a few moments, all the people in the chapel were absorbed in their own thoughts. Falks' words conjured up the unforgettable images of fire, smoke, and ash. Falk spoke of catching glimpses of the iconic World Trade Center towers crashing to the ground on the television at his middle school while changing classes.
No one could help but to remember the sense of mingled confusion and fear felt as a middle school student, unsure of what was actually happening on that day. It was clear in the faces of those students present, a kind of communal understanding of that feeling and fear. Although eight years had passed in that moment the fear was suddenly very real and present again, as if the events had just occurred.
President Helm began his speech by addressing emotions that all who experienced and remember the events of Sept 11th, 2001 go through and wrestle with. There is a strange feeling of guilt for those that live through great tragedy, a feeling of guilt that stems from our ability to move on and return to normal life: the ability to forget.
"Such is the resilience and perhaps the frailty of the human spirit that our memories have already begun to fade," said Helm, reminding us of our own human nature, and the way we inevitably heal.
"It is human to heal," he said, "and in healing to reshape memory into lessons from which we can learn." His words advised students not to feel guilty for moving on, but to transform that acceptance into a more fervent desire for justice and change.
The weather reflected the somber atmosphere inside Egner Memorial Chapel on Friday, Sept 11th. The ceremony began with a welcoming speech from Peter Bredlau, Muhlenberg Chaplain, and an introduction by Student Body President, Jon Falk. Falk, '10 spoke to the students, urging them to reflect on their memories of that fateful day.
For a few moments, all the people in the chapel were absorbed in their own thoughts. Falks' words conjured up the unforgettable images of fire, smoke, and ash. Falk spoke of catching glimpses of the iconic World Trade Center towers crashing to the ground on the television at his middle school while changing classes.
No one could help but to remember the sense of mingled confusion and fear felt as a middle school student, unsure of what was actually happening on that day. It was clear in the faces of those students present, a kind of communal understanding of that feeling and fear. Although eight years had passed in that moment the fear was suddenly very real and present again, as if the events had just occurred.
President Helm began his speech by addressing emotions that all who experienced and remember the events of Sept 11th, 2001 go through and wrestle with. There is a strange feeling of guilt for those that live through great tragedy, a feeling of guilt that stems from our ability to move on and return to normal life: the ability to forget.
"Such is the resilience and perhaps the frailty of the human spirit that our memories have already begun to fade," said Helm, reminding us of our own human nature, and the way we inevitably heal.
"It is human to heal," he said, "and in healing to reshape memory into lessons from which we can learn." His words advised students not to feel guilty for moving on, but to transform that acceptance into a more fervent desire for justice and change.