Skylar Siegel / Contributing writer
Eleven years have passed, but the memories haven’t.
Sept. 11, 2001 marks the day the nation was scarred—around 3,000 people died and this in turn, robbed the nation of its sense of security.
To remember those who lost their lives, the Office of Campus Life at Biscayne Bay Campus is holding a commencement event on Tuesday, Sept. 11 in Panther Square from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
“It has been held in different magnitudes, from religious/interfaith services, to displays and candle vigils,” said Gary Santos Mendoza graduate student assistant in the Office of Campus Life.
Between 100 to 150 students and University employees are expected to attend the commencement event.
“This ceremony is a little bit more solemn,” said Mendoza who is also a co-organizer of the event.
Sanjeev Udhani, a senior finance and international business major, was in band class when it happened.
“It was pretty traumatizing, no one knew what was going on in school and parents kept pulling my classmates out of class,” Udhani said. “Everyone was worried and scared that Miami would be the next target.”
For Natalie M. Lopez-Rivera, senior majoring in english, 9/11 helped her appreciate those around her more.
“I was one of the fortunate ones whose family members were unharmed by the tragedy but this event really made me appreciate my family even more and taught me to learn to appreciate the people in my life,” she said.
Most students were in school when the attacks happened, but Daniel Usma, vice president of programming for Student Programming Council at BBC had a closer experience. He was in La Guardia airport in New York waiting for a flight to return to his home country, Colombia.
“Because I was traveling alone and didn’t speak English, I had no idea what was going on,” he said. “Once someone finally told me why my flight had been cancelled, I was in shock thinking how lucky I was not to have had an earlier flight.”
At the event, students can speak to one another about 9/11 and reflect upon how it has changed them.
“A year after 9/11, I moved to New York from Colombia. Because of 9/11 it was very difficult being an immigrant in that time, not only because of the color of my skin, but also because the government’s increase in security measures, making it very difficult for immigrant to obtain a legal status,” said Usma.
For the students who may have lost a loved one, the commencement event will give a chance for everyone to open up.
After his experience in the airport, Usma changed his view on life.
“9/11 made me value life so much more, it made me aware that life can be taken away in seconds when you least expect it, therefore we must not regret any moment we are alive.”
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