“We Remember the Past, Embrace the Present, and Hope for the Future”
On September 12, the Stevens community came together to remember the victims of the 9/11 attacks. The Point, known to students as “The Cannon,” looks across where the Twin Towers used to be. The event began with the Presentation of Colors by the Hoboken Police Department Honor Guard. The drums and pipes played while campus Chief of Police Timothy Griffin prepared to give his welcome speech. While the events of that day are well known to most, hearing Chief Griffin’s stories will always strike a chord with those who witnessed the tragedy and those who did not.
Student Sara Deuidicibus shared the poem, “A Litany of Remembrance—We Remember Them,” by Rabbi Sylvan Kamens and Rabbi Jack Riemer. The poem is one to keep in mind on days like these, days where stories are shared and tears are shed. Cindy Chin ‘05 was one of those who shared her story. Her husband, boyfriend at the time, lived in Davis. All the couple did for the next couple of days was a blur — going to and from friends’ dorms, making sure her dad was alright, and checking the television for any updates. Students at the time described that fear and isolation, stating “we were pretty much trapped there.”
Dean of Students Kenneth Nilsen shared his perspective next, which was an essay he wrote for the 10th anniversary, “We Remember the Past, Embrace the Present, and Hope for the Future.” In this text, he illustrated the turmoils of the staff working on that day. Seventy-five co-op students were working in the city, and employees stayed until 10 p.m., finding all of the students unscathed.
At the time, Griffin was working as a Lieutenant at the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office. His first day back from training with the FBI was 9/11. He and his colleagues worked tirelessly in the pile, on tugboats, and doing everything they could to help the community they so dearly loved. “For those of you who were not born yet, or were too young to remember it, thank you for being here and listening to the stories of those who were. I am glad you did not have to experience it, but I hope you never forget the thing you never experienced.”
As the poem states, “So long as we live, they too shall live, for they are now a part of us, as we remember them.”
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