The Chart Online

College plans remembrance of Sept. 11
By Allison Rosewicz

Editor-in-Chief

Missouri Southern will commemorate a nation on Wednesday.

The ceremonies begin at 8 a.m. in Taylor Auditorium with performances of patriotic songs by Southern s band and choir. People who have visited Ground Zero will also give testimony about their experiences in New York. Special seating will be provided for service personnel, including military members, veterans, police, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, city and county administrators and hospital workers.

We re going to try to recognize those that do a wonderful service for us that we sometimes take for granted, said Kelly Wilson, student support center director.

During the ceremony in Taylor, a Sept. 11 memorial flag will also be on display. The flag was donated to College President Julio Le n by Denise and Donald Lee of Joplin.

The flag is 3-by-5 feet. On a white background, an eagle holds a ribbon in his mouth that says, Noble Eagle Enduring Freedom. The eagle clutches in his claws a banner that says, God Bless America and September 11, 2001.

It is always gratifying to know that this College enjoys a tremendous amount of support from the people, Le n said.

Around 8:45 a.m., the group in Taylor will be dismissed to the Flag of Freedom dedication on the oval in front of Billingsly Student Center. A 20-by-38 foot flag will be raised on a 100-foot pole. The memorial plaza around the flag will include a rose garden and an inscription of three-inch brass lettering in the concrete which says, Flag of Freedom Memorial and Dedicated September 11, 2002.

The construction of the dedication site was funded by an area individual who wishes to remain anonymous. Wilson said the campus appreciates the donation.

I think it s so generous, I can t even describe it, she said. I know I will be so moved to see that flag go up. And I know other people will be. To have this flag on the highest point on our campus will be pretty dramatic.

A color guard consisting of Joplin ROTC cadets, veterans, police, firefighters and EMTs will be raising the flag. It will take at least 22 people to raise the flag.

In addition to the flag dedication, a memorial wall will also be presented. During the week of Sept. 11, six pieces of this wall will be located across campus in Matthews Hall, Kuhn Hall, Ummel Hall, the Anderson Hall, Taylor Hall and on the oval. The wall is a six-piece wooden structure with a white surface on which students can write or draw their feelings about the terrorist attacks. The pieces will be put together during the Sept. 11 memorial.

Professors have been asked to attend both services with their classes.

Debbie Lay, senior Spanish major, expects many people to attend the memorial.

If it was later in the day, it would be packed, she said. Unfortunately, college students don t want to get up that early.

Lay said she, however, will definitely go.

Everybody s talking about Sept. 11, she said. I will attend the services and wear red, white and blue.

At 8 p.m. that evening, a prayer service will take place at the flag site. At night, the memorial will be illuminated with 1,000-watt lights on 12-foot poles.

Wilson said so far, the student reaction to the memorial construction has been positive. She said students immediately volunteered to help during the dedication ceremonies.

The willing spirit is pretty amazing, Wilson said. Students realize they re living history now. It will be in the books, it will be archived, but we have experienced it.

During the ceremonies, Le n thinks attendees will experience a combination of remembrance, sadness and unity. He also said people are now more aware of the threat of terrorism.

The changes on this campus are similar to the changes across the nation, Le n said. Everyone has a sense of patriotism, and obviously an awareness that there is a new threat the country has not faced before. Before Sept. 11, terrorism was something that happened somewhere else in the world, never here.

Lay said she was devastated and saddened by the terrorist actions, but since she lost no friends or family and lives so far away from the attack sites, she was not directly affected.

It seems like the war is being fought there, not here, Lay said. In a way, it was good it happened because it woke us up. But they shouldn t wake us up. We get angry.

Because of the College s international mission, Le n believes the campus awareness is heightened, and students have a desire to learn more about why terrorism occurs.

Wilson also said students will feel a mixture of emotions.

They will feel sadness for the loss of lives, she said. They will feel proud to be a part of this country. They will cherish the times that have changed, especially college students because they are shaping their lives. They will learn tolerance and understanding. We shouldn t lose our tolerance because we were wounded.

Both Le n and Wilson said the most important part of the memorial will be to remember those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks.

Don t let them lose their lives in vain, Wilson said.