The University of Central Arkansas campus community affirmed the American resolve to never forget the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, during an observance ceremony in front of Main Hall on Thursday.
Jimmy Bryant, director of the UCA Archives, opened the ceremony by recounting his memories of that harrowing day. Bryant immediately began collecting media and public accounts of the tragedy. UCA Archives holds the state?s only Sept. 11 collection.
UCA President Lu Hardin spoke about the pain that was experienced that day. ?Today we extend our heartfelt compassion for those who died that day,? he said.
Arkansas State Senator Gilbert Baker talked about the cultural differences within the United States, but noted that that nation set those differences aside and came together in the days following Sept. 11.
?We can remember the sacrifices, the horror, the courage, the evil, and we can be the force of good, compassion and righteousness in the United States,? he said.
Conway Police Chief Randall Aragon, a native New Yorker, said on the morning of Sept. 11, he was in a gas station buying coffee when he heard about the tragedy. ?I thought it was a movie,? he said. ?I couldn?t believe it was real.?
Aragon said the country?s law enforcement has transitioned from thinking about individual criminals to thinking about weapons of mass destruction and mass murders. Words and phrases like terrorism, Osama Bin Laden, and air marshals have become part of our daily vocabulary. ?It?s a reality, but we have taken that challenge and we?re moving forward,? he said.
The end of the observance ceremony featured four Carl Stuart Middle School students who read letters from students at St. Bartholomew Elementary School in Queens, N.Y. The students wrote essays reflecting on the tragic day.
Copies of those essays are being preserved in the UCA Archives.
-Jennifer Boyett
