Features
WPI Remembers 9/11
WPI observed the first anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by gathering together in two ceremonies to remember the victims of the attacks, to share personal thoughts and memories of the attacks and their aftermath, and to reflect on what has changed-and not changed-in the past year.
Shortly after 10 a.m., students, faculty, staff and alumni gathered around Beech Tree Circle for a solemn ceremony of remembrance. Recalling "a sad but meaningful day," the Rev. Peter J. Scanlon, director of WPI's Collegiate Religions Center, called upon those gathered to think about the many who died on Sept. 11, including Leonard Taylor '79 of Reston, Va., who was aboard American Airlines Flight 77, which was crashed into the Pentagon.
Scanlon, chaplain to the Worcester Fire Department, noted that Worcester, which lost six firefighters in the Worcester Cold Storage fire in 1999, understands the agony a community suffers when public servants die trying to save the lives of others. He read the "Firemen's Prayer" in tribute to the firefighters and police officers who gave their lives on Sept. 11.
To the plaintive strains of Amazing Grace, played by a bagpiper and drummer, a procession consisting of a military color guard, a Worcester firefighter and a WPI police officer crossed the Earle Bridge to the flag pole on Beech Tree Circle. They raised the American flag to half mast and the crowd responded by singing the national anthem.
In a brief but powerful address, WPI President Edward Alton Parrish looked back on how the events of Sept. 11 had touched him and the WPI community. Beginning each statement with a simple "I remember," he recalled attending a meeting near the Pentagon on that day and feeling the impact of the jetliner, returning to Worcester by car and passing the smoldering ruins in lower Manhattan, and finally reaching home and embracing his wife.
He also recalled the events and actions that drew the WPI community together and helped it respond to the attacks, including a candlelight procession that formed an unbroken chain of light around the Quadrangle. "I will remember," he concluded, "not to take freedom for granted." With the playing of taps, the singing of God Bless America, and a moment of silence for the victims of the attacks, the ceremony concluded.
The community gathered again at noon in Harrington Auditorium to hear reflections and prayers from students, including representatives of the Muslim Student Association, the International Student Council, the Indian Student Association and the Newman Club, and a keynote address by Lt. Col. Richard B. O'Connor, head of WPI's Military Science Department, who was stationed at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. A meeting away from his office, which was in the path of the jetliner, saved his life, though he lost friends and colleagues.
The service concluded with remarks by Father Scanlon, who reminded the attendees that forgiveness is an important element of healing. "How well have you brought healing and forgiveness into your life since Sept. 11," he asked. "If we can all reach out to each other in healing and forgiveness, what a difference that will make. That's one way we can remember Sept. 11."
The service was moderated by Christopher O'Malley, president of the Student Government Association, which played a major role in organizing the day's events.