Fifth Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks to be Observed at University of Richmond
September 7, 2006
University of Richmond will commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with tolling bells, prayer services and public forums throughout the day.
The campus-wide observance, “Reflections: Five Years Since 9/11,” will begin with tolling bells and a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., marking the first plane crash at the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Additional bells and silence at 9:02, 9:37 and 10:03 a.m. will note when subsequent planes hit the South Tower, the Pentagon and a Shanksville, Pa., field.
An “Open Mic on 9/11” will take place at the Commons Terrace from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., with an inter-religious prayer service immediately following at Cannon Memorial Chapel. Thoughts, stories and drawings about Sept. 11 will be inscribed throughout the day on a “reflections wall” at the University Forum, the new outdoor plaza above Westhampton Lake. Flowers will be placed by the university’s Alumni Association at Gumenick Quadrangle, site of four granite benches placed in memory of alumni killed during the attacks.
At 7 p.m., a Richmond sophomore from Afghanistan, a Virginia Muslim community leader, a local Red Cross official who worked at the crash sites on the day of the attacks, and a professor specializing in Middle Eastern affairs will take part in a town hall discussion. Rodney Smolla, dean of Richmond’s School of Law will lead the program at the law school Moot Court Room. Panelists will be: student Muska Assad of Afghanistan; Imad Damaj, VCU pharmacology professor and president of the Virginia Muslim Coalition for Public Affairs; Bill Harrison, Greater Richmond Red Cross communications director; and Shelia Carapico, associate professor of political science.
The public is invited to participate in any of the day’s events, sponsored by A More Perfect Union, Office of the Chaplaincy, Bonner Center for Civic Engagement, Office of International Education and School of Law.