University observes 9/11 with song, speech, prayer

Though the University has not planned one large commemoration for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as in the past, there will be several opportunities for remembrance throughout today.

An hour of music for meditation purposes will be held at the University Chapel today at both 8 a.m and 12:30 p.m. Interfaith services conducted by the deans of religious life will follow at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. In addition, the chapel will be open for prayer throughout the day and evening.

"The meditation or commemorative services are just offering different types of options for the University community," said Patricia Allen, media relations manager. "This is another type of way of observing 9/11."

Students will have an opportunity for informal discussion at a lunch in Murray-Dodge.

"Being from New York, I wanted to do something where people from the area or those more affected than usual by the attacks could come and talk about their experiences," organizer Christine O'Neill '06 said, noting that undergraduate and graduate students are welcome.

The Wilson School will host a commemorative panel discussion titled "Two Years After 9/11: How Far Have We Come?" at 4:30 p.m. in Dodds Auditorium. Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter '80 will moderate the discussion.

"One function of academic institutions is to provide perspectives and narratives to help us comprehend experiences that are difficult and troubling," panelist Professor Christopher Eisgruber '83, Laurence S. Rockefeller Professor of Public Affairs, said in an email.

"Because the Woodrow Wilson School is a school of public and international affairs, and because the policy dimensions of September 11 are obviously important, our panel will focus on policy questions," Eisgruber said.

The deputy executive director of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States Christopher Kojm GS79, and Robert Orr GS92, executive director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government will also participate on the panel.

In place of last year's outdoor event hosted by the University, the Princeton Committee Against Terrorism has decided to schedule a community-wide memorial service to honor victims of the attacks at 6 p.m. on the steps between Whig-Clio.

"We are holding this event because of the great deal of impact Sept. 11 has on our lives and how it has affected the way many of us look at the world," said Carlos Ramos-Mrosovsky '04, PCAT chairman emeritus.

"I think it was important for the community as a whole to have an event. We saw that there was a need for recognition of Sept. 11," PCAT chair David Konieczkowski '06 said.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

There will be a wide range of speakers including Professor Fred Hitz '61, a former CIA Inspector General, Professor Jack Matlock, a former U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, and students. The event will also include musical and religious tributes. Ramos-Mrosovsky said PCAT's event will allow "Princeton to acknowledge how important Sept. 11 is."

"We as a group feel that it is particularly important on 9/11 that politics (not to say patriotism) be left behind. The two themes of our service are remembrance of the dead and resolve for the future, and among those political games have no place," Konieczkowski said in an email.

On Saturday at 2 p.m., a dedication ceremony of a garden near East Pyne will take place to remember the 13 University alumni who lost their lives in the attacks.