On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Elon University was preparing for a pep rally at College Coffee to celebrate the opening of Rhodes Stadium. Suddenly, plans changed. The marching band that was leading the school in jubilation stopped. The cheerleaders ceased to shout.
"The wedding becomes a funeral," said President Leo Lambert at an evening remembrance service, portraying how the day unfolded at Elon 10 years ago." No fight song. The band plays the national anthem instead. Students hold onto another."
Members of the Elon community gathered in front of Alamance building Sunday evening to remember and reflect on the events of Sept. 11, 2001, how the university has responded and how the world is a different place as a result of the past decade.
John Sullivan, philosophy professor emeritus, challenged those present at the service to create the world they want to live in through the choices they make every day of their lives.
"Each of us, moment by moment, can create heaven or hell," Sullivan said. "We make the choice in what we say and the choice in what we do. If we go through our life on default, on automatic pilot, we will surely create hell."
Sullivan described to students a new generation in which "planet, people and profits" were co-equal priorities shared by all — and said this goal could begin to be modeled practically at Elon, encouraging the university to continue studying the art of peace.
Jana Lynn Patterson, assistant vice president for Student Life, read an essay from Elon alumnus Jason Boone about how his life was changed on Sept. 11. Boone, a freshman at Elon when the attacks occurred, lost his father in the Pentagon on what was supposed to have been his father's day off from work.
"I wondered if it would have been any easier to comprehend had I been older," wrote Boone, reflecting on himself as an 18-year-old. "The truth, of course, is that no one with the capacity to understand what was happening was prepared or capable of handling it. At least, not alone."
Boone continued by writing about how the support he received at Elon carried him through those days and months following his father's death, and how, like many others affected by 9/11, he learned in what way to continue on with life.
"For young people who may have been old enough to see the events, but too young to fully comprehend, I hope they believe people like me when we say, 'Yes, that one day in September, we were very afraid,'" Boone wrote. "But the next day, we feared a little less. Eventually, we even had hope. Laughter and happiness would return – much sooner than I dared to guess."
Senior Elise Delmerico came to the event on what had already been a weekend of personal reflection and remembrance. Delmerico, from Winchester, VA, said her friend's father worked in the World Trade Center and died on Sept. 11. Delmerico said she knew many other people who had family members who worked in the Pentagon, which is about an hour away from her home.
"This is the biggest thing that's happened to us in modern history," she said. "It's up to us to make sure these people are not forgotten — especially during the years where it isn't such a large milestone, as this one was."