By Kat Boushee
The CCSU community came together on Monday to honor those lost due to the horrific events of 9/11. The Student Union Board of Governors (SUBOG) in conjunction with the Student Center hosted a memorial, which took place by the ‘Peace Pole’ next to the Student Center.
The event, which was slated to start at 11:00 a.m., ran less than 30 minutes but packed quite a bit into the time slot. The memorial featured a performance by CCSU’s own ACABellas and a speech by John Campbell, Catholic minister on campus. Ryan Ensling, the chair of SUBOG, opened the memorial with a speech.
“The Student Center, as it always has,” said Ensling, “represents the building of community on campus.” He went on to say that although the Student Center was under construction on 9/11, the community was together holding candlelight vigils during that time.
Campbell, shared a story and a passage from the Bible that he thought would be edifying for the campus community. Following Campbell was the Connecticut National Guard, who placed a commemorative wreath in front of the Peace Pole.
Sergeant Rodriguez of the Connecticut National Guard said that although he and his fellow soldiers at the event were a “quiet bunch,” they were honored to be there for the event.
Following the memorial, attendees were invited to take a small flag and process to the peace sign by the powerhouse and place it in the ground under the tree.
Ensling mentioned that CCSU ran programs “to educate the campus community about the diversity of religions and of people in the world who do not promote hate as a way of living.” He said that the memorial was to remember all those we lost due to the attacks and reminded the audience that hate is not a solution.
“We know today, as we did then, that hate will not bring them back, that it will not bring back that sense of security,” Ensling said. “Hate is our enemy; love is the only remedy. Today and every day, do something positive for others and we will keep alive the memories of all those we lost and in the process change the world for the better.”
