It was another beautiful day in Dallas. Students were waking upto their alarms and professors prepared for classes. The historichalls of the SMU campus bustled with the sounds of a new schoolyear finally getting on track. Teachers had their official classlists after Add/Drop day had come and gone, and Mustang athleteswere adding win totals to their records. Upperclassmen were back inthe swing of things, while first-years students overcoming the lastbit of home sickness ate breakfast in Umphrey Lee. Unlike manyother school days, this would be one that changed historyforever.
Over 1500 miles away New York City and the Pentagon were rockedby the most devastating attacks on our home soil since the bombingsat Pearl Harbor. Fear and confusion swept through the campus asstudents and faculty got word of terrorist attacks on the twintowers. As footage of the attacks flooded the screens of everyhousehold television, Americans watched a series of tragic eventsunfold before their eyes.
While the nation tended to its wounds and searched for answers,SMU became a strong vigil.
SMU President R. Gerald Turner spoke at a noon address at theflagpole encouraging students to be strong. While some classeschose not to meet, others remained in session. Chaplain WilliamFinnin held a candlelight prayer ceremony on the steps of DallasHall that evening in observance of the devastating events.
Two years after the unforgettable attacks, SMU continues tostand strong for the nation in its times of uncertainty. After twoyears of patriotic demonstrations, peace protesting, and popularcountry music ballads calling for action against the terrorists, anew fall semester is in full swing.
In observance of this historic day, the SMU community is invitedto the Rotunda in Dallas Hall tonight at 5:30 p.m. President Turnerwill read Psalm 46, while Chaplain Will Finnin will preside overthe ceremony. The Seminary Singers, under the direction of MichaelHawn, will provide music for the ceremony while members of the SMUcommunity will recite the phrase “May Peace Prevail Acrossthe Earth” in more than 15 different languages, includingSpanish, Greek, and Farsi, among others.
“We seek to create a space at the center of the campus toremember those who died, to examine our own responses to thetragedy of terrorism and its aftermath, and to pray together fornon-violent ways to resolve conflict, ease historic bitterness, andclaim the process of peace,” Finnin said, as quoted in apress release Wednesday.
Students also feel strongly not only about the university comingtogether to honor the day, but also to celebrate the strengththroughout the nation and SMU community.
“As a university body, we’ve learned to appreciateeach other, and the differences we all possess,” juniorKimberly DeBlance said, speaking of what has happened in the pasttwo years. “As a nation, we’ve learned to celebrate thefreedoms that we live under everyday. I feel blessed to live in anation that can overcome.”
