SMU honors 9/11 anniversary with thought-provoking events
SMU is hosting thought-provoking events through Sept. 11 in observance of the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
To commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11, SMU will host a range of public events Sept. 7 – 11 to help the community find peace and meaning after that devastating day. (See the Schedule of Events below.)
“Only by bringing our thoughts, feelings, prejudices and knowledge to the forefront can we resist those who would manipulate us,” says Rita Kirk, director of SMU's Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics & Public Responsibility, overall sponsor of the events. “How we remember the events of that day is an important ethical choice.”
Kirk will moderate the panel discussion for "The Day the Whole World Watched" on Sunday, Sept. 11.
"What happened on 9/11 was horrific, but that doesn’t get us any closer to making a better world. We have to commit ourselves to making it happen," says Rick Halperin, director of SMU's Embrey Human Rights Program, which will host the "Ending the Cycles of Violence" discussion on Friday, Sept. 9. "This demands peoples’ awareness and involvement in creating a new narrative based on respect, dignity, manners, tolerance and healing.”
For more details on all of the events, visit the event site, where you can add your thoughts to an online journal (911remembered.org); scroll through entries from SMU's original set of remembrance journals created on Sept. 11, 2001; and see a video with student Christina Rancke, whose father died on 9/11.
The Christina Rancke Interviews |
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Christina Rancke talks with the Maguire Center |
Christina Rancke interviewed by WFAA News |
Schedule of Events |
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| September 7 3-4 p.m. McCord Auditorium Dallas Hall 3225 University Blvd. |
“What Happened? A Historic Account” SMU Political Science Professor Seyom Brown of the John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies will be the featured speaker. The event is free and open to the public. |
| September 7-11 Meadows Museum Sculpture Garden 5900 Bishop Blvd. |
Plaza Memorial: A Meditative Space Flags will be planted in the plaza for each of the 2,977 9/11 victims and their families. The event is free and open to the public. |
| September 8 4-5 p.m. SMU Faculty Club 3034 Daniel Ave. |
“Haunted Memories and Complex Loyalties” A Maguire Public Scholar Lecture by Professor William Abraham will focused on terrorism’s ties to religion and other causes. The free event is open to the public but advance reservation is required by visiting smu.edu/ethicscenter (see “Events”) or calling 214-768-4255. |
| September 9 8:30 a.m. 3800 University Blvd. |
University Park Fire Department Ceremony The ceremony will honor firefighters who died on 9/11. A Posting of the Colors will include bagpipe playing, a ringing of the fire bell and remarks by the city chaplain. More about the ceremony. |
| September 9 7-9 p.m. McCord Auditorium Dallas Hall 3225 University Blvd. |
“Ending the Cycles of Violence: Reflections on Compassion, Forgiveness and Healing” The event will feature a diverse gathering of religious and peace leaders, including 9/11-hate crime survivor Rais Bhuiyan of ; Mavis Belisle of the Dallas Peace Center; Bill McElvaney, professor emeritus of SMU’s Perkins School of Theology; SMU Chaplain Stephen Rankin; Acharya Shree Yogeesh of the Siddhayatan [Hindu-Jain Tirth] Spiritual Retreat Center; Brother ChiSing, a Thich Nhat Hahn-ordained Buddhist minister and director of the Dallas Meditation Center; and Hind Jirrah, co-founder of the Texas Muslim Women’s Foundation. The moderator will be Dianne Solis of The Dallas Morning News. The free event is sponsored by SMU’s Embrey Human Rights Program in Dedman College and the Dallas Peace Center. |
| September 10 6 p.m. Ford Stadium 5801 Airline Road |
Half-Time Tribute from the SMU Band The tribute will occur during the SMU football game against the University of Texas-El Paso. For more details and ticket information, visit , or call 214-768-4263 or 800-745-3000. |
| September 11 6-7:15 p.m. McCord Auditorium Dallas Hall 3225 University Blvd. |
“The Day the Whole World Watched”
The event will be moderated by Rita Kirk, director of SMU’s Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics & Public Responsibility. The event is free and open to the public. |
| September 11 7:30-8:30 p.m. Dallas Hall 3225 University Blvd. |
Service of Remembering Presiding at the service will be SMU President R. Gerald Turner, Chaplain Stephen Rankin and Student Event Chair Christina Rancke, whose father perished in one of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11. The event is free and open to the public. |
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