Stony Brook University will join communities across the country in marking the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, remembering those who lost their lives while honoring the courage, service and resilience that followed one of the most consequential days in American history.
Through moments of silence, acts of service, opportunities for learning and spaces for quiet reflection, the university’s annual Day of Remembrance and Commemoration will offer students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members many ways to participate. The observance will also honor the 21 Stony Brook alumni who perished in the attacks, ensuring their lives continue to be remembered.
The commemoration begins Thursday, September 10, with a special screening of 9/11: An American Requiem marking the 25th anniversary. Presented by Stony Brook’s WTC Health & Wellness Program and the Staller Center, the film offers an opportunity to reflect on the events of September 11 through personal stories and historical perspective.
On Friday, September 11, members of the campus community are invited to visit the Memorial Arch near the Humanities Building for quiet contemplation. Flowers may be placed among the grove of trees surrounding the memorial, where the names of the 21 Stony Brook alumni who lost their lives are engraved. At 8:46 am, the moment the first plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center, the campus chimes will ring 21 times in their memory.
Throughout the day, the university will offer opportunities for remembrance, reflection and service, including a blood drive in the Student Union, a dedicated reflection room at the Wang Center, a memorial pinwheel garden on the Academic Mall, a Loving Kindness Meditation hosted by Healthier U, and a self-guided walking tour and StoryMap highlighting Stony Brook’s connections to September 11 across the West Campus.
New this year in recognition of the 25th anniversary, the Memorial Stadium Climb on Sunday, September 13, invites participants to climb the equivalent of the 110 stories of the World Trade Center towers in tribute to the courage and sacrifice of first responders and all those affected by the attacks.
“The stadium climb is a chance for the Stony Brook University and Stony Brook Medicine community to come together to remember the lives changed by September 11, including first responders, alumni and members of our community,” said Heather Banoub, assistant vice president, University and Medicine Community Relations. “More than a physical challenge, it is an opportunity to pause, remember and reflect together.”
Banoub said the event also provides an opportunity to share the history and personal stories of September 11 with today’s students.
“It is also a way to share the history and personal stories of September 11 with a new generation of students, many of whom were not yet born on September 11, 2001, and to ensure that those who were lost and the impact of that day are never forgotten,” she said.
Registration remains open for climbers and volunteers.
The September 11 remembrance on campus also includes In the Shadow of the Twin Towers, a series sponsored by the Humanities Institute at Stony Brook:
- SUNY Distinguished Professor of History Nancy Tomes will deliver a faculty lecture, Zones of Devastation: Writing Long Island into the History of September 11, on Wednesday, September 9 at 12:30 pm in Humanities Room 1008.
- Molly Todd, managing editor of the Oral History Review will deliver a presentation, Oral History Work In & With Communities: Essential Tools for Documenting Long Island Perspectives on 9-11, Monday, September 14 at 12:30 pm in Humanities Room 1008.
- Marita Sturken of New York University will deliver the Sir Run Run Shaw Lecture, Memorials, Museums, and Architecture in the Post-9/11 Era, on Wednesday, October 14 at 12:30 pm in Humanities Room 1008. The event is co-sponsored by the Humanities Institute at Stony Brook.
The Stony Brook University Student Blood Drive Committee is hosting the first of three drives on Friday, September 11, from 9 am to 9 pm in the Stony Brook Union. The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office and the International Police Association are supporting this blood drive, which is dedicated to 9/11 heroes.
For a complete schedule of events, registration information and volunteer opportunities, visit the university’s Day of Remembrance and Commemoration webpage.
Your planning of events in honor of those who either perished or were impacted by the devastation of 9/11 is an extraordinarily thoughtful , beautiful and creatively sensitive series of meaningful reminders of that time of great loss. I commend the University, students, alumni and area police for providing ways to remember and continue to heal from the devastation.