Activities will be held this week around different areas of campus in observation and remembrance of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. 

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office and its collaborative have worked to create events throughout the week for students to attend and engage in, meant to promote insightful thought around the tragedy. 

“The 11th was set to fall on a weekend, so we took this opportunity to make the campus think about it and respect it before taking the weekend to observe and respect it their own way,” said the director of the DEI, Dr. Anthony Baird.

Baird explained the events hosted this week would each do something different in remembrance and observation. This week’s events include talks on topics such as the effect of generational trauma as well as the change in the global political climate from before and after.

“The fluence of events is not by accident,” Baird said. “My staff and the DEI collaborative team created proper events for each day this week. We got known professors to do lectures for us who have helped with this type of conversations and topics before.”

The sequence of events kicked off on Sept. 6 with the ribbon cutting for the new Student Veterans Association lounge that is now located in the Hubbard basement. The SVA lounge was previously located in the Strebel building but was recently moved to this location last year.

“We start with the ribbon cutting this week as a way to respect and honor our veterans during the observation of 9/11,” Baird said.

The university always strives to honor its veterans as in the school’s history it was founded by veterans who wanted to continue their education, according to Baird. 

After the ribbon cutting, Dr. JT Kwon, a political science professor, will be hosting a lecture on Terrorism and 9/11 and will be using it as an opportunity to show how the global political climate has changed.

The lecture is set to take place on Sept. 7 at 5:30 p.m. in the Hislop Auditorium which is located in Thurston Hall.

On Sept. 8, Psychology professor Kaylee Seddio will be hosting her own lecture on the generational effects of trauma. This lecture will also be located in Hislop Auditorium At 5:30 p.m.

The week of events will be closed out on Sept. 9 with the annual flag ceremony which is held every year. It is done with the help of Utica University’s Emergency Medical Services team.

“We are very lucky that we are able to do this event every year, along with it being a part of a series of events this year, it properly allows us to honor all those we have lost on that tragic day,” said Captain of Utica University’s EMS, Colby Kusinitz.

Kusinitz stated that the flag ceremony will take place at noon and last half an hour on the Strebel lawn. 

Baird believes that these events all week will come together to properly remember and observe that day.

“It was a tragic time in our history,” Baird said. “We as a university need to know how to talk about this topic and we believe the best way is these events as they properly handle the subject and honor all the people who had to live through such a tragedy.”