COMMEMORATE STUDENTS REMEMBER 9/11 M ost people remembered what they were doing on 9/11. They remembered the feelings they had. They remembered the way parents and relatives reacted. They remembered those things because that past event shaped them in a lasting way. Campus organizations such as Pi Sigma Alpha and the American Studies Institute shared this belief. Beginning in 2002, the two organizations, sponsored by the Young America's Foundation, placed flags on the front lawn to remember the attacks. Flags were set out to represent each person who was killed on 9/11, totaling 2,996. Pi Sigma Alpha, a national history honor society, was an important part of the collaborative effort. PSA's effort recognized that 9/11 affected the world, not just the U.S. "Pi Sigma Alpha members feel that the 9/11 attacks need to be remembered as an attack on the entire global community," Pi Sigma Alpha faculty sponsor Dr. Mark Elrod said. "By remembering the 379 non-U.S. citizens who died in the attacks, we hope to make the flag memorial something that touches all members of the Harding and Searcy communities." Dr. Bob Reely, associate executive director of ASI, believed in the importance of remembrance. "Aristotle said, 'One strength can be a weakness,"' Reely said. "I think the weakness becomes the things we all hold Senior Mary Kate Collins introduces 2013 alumna Ashley Shelton at the first College Republicans meeting on Aug. 29. Shelton spoke about the importance of voting and her internship experience at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., in 2.012. Jerry Eberly Senior Thomas Sanford places American flags on the front lawn on Sept. 9 as part of the Never Forget project. Pi Sigma Alpha and ASI annually placed 2,996 flags, which included 379 international flags, to honor 9/11 victims. Janae Callicoat onto. We start thinking 9/11 was a surreal happening, especially when the students were 6 or 7 years old." Reely believed that placing flags on the front lawn helped to remind students, faculty and visitors alike that what happened was very real. He considered 9/11 as the college generation's equivalent to Pearl Harbor. Because the War on Terror was not over, the millennial generation had no closure on the issue. The flags represented part of the healing process. " I think to remember helps healing," Reely said. "I think to forget isn't always the best way." Whether the importance of the 2,996 flags was rooted in their ability to provide closure or to keep 9/11 at the forefront of people's minds, Pi Sigma Alpha and ASI, with the help of the Young America's Foundation, planned to continue the tradition for as long as they could. They recognized the flags' importance in helping the students commemorate the unforgettable tragedy. "The flags act as a reminder of that day when we stood in silence, not knowing how to react," junior Kristen Scanlon said. "All we could do was wait and pray. The flags remind me that we are still in a time of waiting. They remind me that although nothing can justify the horror of 9/11, God will one day come again and redeem and restore all things." Reid Belew
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