Honoring fallen heroes

At 9 p.m. Thursday evening, members of the IU and Bloomington community formed a circle that spanned the larger part of Dunn Meadow. The large circle of people, outlined only by candles, fell silent for eleven minutes to signify the second anniversary of Sept. 101.\nPrior to the eleven silent minutes, several hundred people gathered in Dunn Meadow for an interfaith service of remembrance and a candlelight vigil.\n"We remember global reality visited us and we were not prepared for the eye of the storm which grabbed us, shook us to the core and sent us into silence," said Reverend Linda Johnson of the Trinity Episcopal Campus Ministry. "We remember that we are now the voice of the departed and the song of peace must be issued from our lips."\nJohnson, along with other campus religious leaders from the Interfaith Association at IU, delivered prayers and speeches in their respective religious scripts and languages. \nStanding on a makeshift stage distinguished by a long row of candles, the leaders and others who played a part in the ceremony expressed their thoughts not only with prayer, but with song.\nWhile many brought up the actual events of Sept. 11, some addressed the crowd about the importance of the religions uniting in prayer. \n"We come from a variety of religious traditions and diverse backgrounds, but we are united in our need to remember and mark the anniversary of those lives lost," said Rabbi Sue Shifron of IU's Helene G. Simon Hillel Center. "Tonight we pray together in a common language and the language of our own religions, and this is a step toward building a community that strives to break down the fears that lead to hatred and violence."\nRepresentatives from the Islamic, Christian, Jewish and Buddhist traditions each took the podium to share words and prayers.\nDuring the service, one student delivered a powerful rendition of 'Amazing Grace' and another individual sang "Blowin' in the Wind." Religious songs in Hebrew and a reading from the Quran also made up the ceremony's interfaith approach.\n"As a Muslim, this service means a lot to me," said Mohamed Yusuf, a graduate student. "What brings me joy at this ceremony is that we have people of all faiths that are coming together tonight," he said.\nSenior Tiffany Crowe said while the ceremony is a positive way of remembering the terrorist attacks, she believes some people haven't learned much from the tragedy in the past two years.\n"It's frustrating when political positions get involved all the time because it's not always about the politics," Crowe said. "This saddens me because so many people are still so self-involved and caught up with that."\nAlthough the crowd's candles slowly melted and became shorter as the ceremony came to a close, it was evident from the emotional prayers and speeches that the impact of Sept. 11 would not dwindle in the future.\n"We've seen a change in how we see everyday life (after Sept. 11)," senior Evan Rowe said. "With our grandparents it was World War II, our parents remember Vietnam and the Kennedy assassination, and our generation will remember Sept. 11 and where we were that day. Years from now I'll look back and remember exactly how I felt."\n-- Contact senior writer Maura Halpern at mhalpern@indiana.edu