This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

Harper Ceremony Marks 9/11 Anniversary

2,819 American flags planted on campus to commemorate victims of 2001 terror attacks.

Nearly 3,000 American flags, each representing a life lost in the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, were planted on the campus of  Thursday afternoon during a ceremony to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the attacks.

“Look at all the flags,” Harper President Ken Ender said during the ceremony, “because they’re not flags. They are our fellow Americans resting in the arms of their loved ones.”

As people arrived to attend the ceremony, which took place in the courtyard between buildings I and J, they were handed a flag and were asked to place it in the grassy area. Once the ceremony concluded, Harper student volunteers planted the remaining flags to make sure all 2,819 were in place.

Find out what's happening in Buffalo Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Harper scheduled its 9/11 commemoration for Thursday so it wouldn’t conflict with other community observances scheduled over the weekend, said Harper public relations specialist Terry Karow. Sunday will be the actual 10th anniversary of the attacks, when passenger jets hijacked by al-Qaida terrorists were flown into the World Trade Center towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. A fourth plane crashed into a Pennsylvania field after passengers fought to retake the plane from hijackers.

Harper employee Diane Tarver, who attended Thursday’s ceremony, remembers hearing about the planes hitting the Twin Towers as she drove to work that morning 10 years ago from her home in Des Plaines. “When I arrived at Harper, everyone was just talking about it,” she said. “It was a tragedy. It was an awful day. And we’ll never forget it.”

Find out what's happening in Buffalo Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Tarver, who works in Harper’s department of continuing education, felt it was important to participate in the ceremony. “It’s affected us all,” she said. “I wanted to share in it.”

Harper student Shableen Sandhu was 12 years old and living in Punjab, India, when the 9/11 attacks occurred. She remembers being frightened half a world away. “It was devastating all over,” she said. Sandhu now lives in Palatine.

Ender was among four speakers during the Harper ceremony. The others were Harper Deputy Police Chief Paul LeBreck; Maham Khan, who was president of the Harper Muslim Student Association in 2001; and faculty member Anne Davidovicz of the English department, who read the poem “On the Ninety-Ninth Floor.” The Cathedral Brass Quintet provided music for the program.

Justin McDermott, a student trustee and U.S. Army veteran, was master of ceremonies. McDermott enlisted after 9/11 and served 15 months in Iraq.

“For me,” McDermott said when opening the ceremony, “Sept. 11 is about going forward. It’s about ensuring that there is a Sept. 12.”

LeBreck spoke in honor of the first responders who were killed in the line of duty 10 years ago. “Many in law enforcement and firefighting today were inspired by those heroes of 9/11,” he said. LeBreck recalled New York City Police officers leading him on a tour of Ground Zero in May 2002, when workers still were searching the wreckage for victims’ remains.

Although Sept. 11, 2001, was a day of fear and horror, LeBreck praised the unity that soon followed. “I can’t imagine a time in my life when, as a nation, we experienced more patriotism than the days after 9/11.”

Khan, now a freelance journalist who can be heard on Chicago Public Radio station WBEZ, recalled how the Muslim Student Association’s weekly meetings were packed following 9/11. Non-Muslims came wanting to learn more about the religion, she said. “I realized how lucky we were to be in an environment conducive to understanding and learning.”

Khan did not find the same environment outside of Harper, though, and she lamented how anti-Muslim sentiment persists in America a decade after the attacks.

“The bad guys are winning, because this is exactly what they want to happen. They want Americans fighting with each other,” she said. “We cannot let them win. We must stay unified.”

Khan said she was optimistic that someday, perhaps by the 20th anniversary of the attacks, unity would prevail. “I have so much faith in the American people,” she said.

Ender, who was the ceremony’s closing speaker, was president of Cumberland County College in New Jersey when the 9/11 attacks occurred. “It was clear that something fundamentally had changed that day,” he said.

Ender spoke of how 9/11 changed Americans’ perception of safety. “I can say to you, without a doubt, that this event put me more in tune with where I find safety. And that is in the arms of my family and friends.”

The flags planted Thursday will remain throughout next week to remind Harper students, faculty and visitors of the 9/11 anniversary.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?