Rutgers-Newark Marks 9/11 With a Call for Hope and Resilience

The Rutgers-Newark community gathered to honor the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack while calling for hope, resilience, and caring in the face of tragedy.

“The capacity of the American to bounce back from adversity is clear and strong. It is that resilience that can propel us forward and bring us hope. These are things that arise from struggle but cannot be destroyed easily,’’ said Rutgers-Newark Chancellor Tonya Smith-Jackson. “While resilience is about bouncing back, hope is about optimism, control, agency and seeing all the possibilities that lie before us.’’

“May the gifts of resilience and hope remain with us all,’’ she said.

Before the chancellor's remarks, members  of the Rutgers-Newark Staff Council and the Inter Fraternity Sorority Council read a list of the 37 Rutgers alumni who died in the attack. Their names were engraved on a memorial plaque underneath the “tree of hope” and surrounded by stones visitors painted with messages such as, “We remember.’’

The event, hosted by the Office of Veteran Affairs & Rutgers University Police Department, included a posting of colors by Junior ROTC members of Central High School and Barringer High School. Bugler Valentine Koltunowicz played taps at the the ceremony’s close.

Speakers shared their own memories and the stories of those who survived the destruction that day. Cristina Veras, an Air Force veteran and  program coordinator at Rutgers Business School, recalled learning about the fall of the Twin Towers as an eight-year-old in Union City. 

“As I grew older, I began to understand what 9/11 meant, not just for our country, but for everyone who woke up that morning with plans for their day, their families and their futures. Throughout my time in the U.S. Air Force, I came across service members of all branches, all walks of life, who on the very next day, went to their nearest recruiting office to enlist,’’ said Veras, whose memories of the attack also inspired her to enlist.

She ended with a call for awareness and unity.

“We live in a world where innocent lives are still being senselessly taken. Honoring 9/11 means refusing to become numb to the suffering, no matter where it happens. It means building a future where we can choose peace to violence, compassion over division, and hope over fear. And I see that hope here on campus every day. 

Paul Lazaro,  Assistant Director of the Office of Veteran and Military Programs, who has been organizing the campus 9/11 memorial service since 2017, recounted the experiences of survivors who escaped the burning towers and helped others, despite the danger. He encouraged others to learn from their example. 

“Similarly to how courage is not the absence of fear, but acting despite fear, resilience does not make us impervious to adversity of tragedy, trauma,” he said. “It enables us to push forward despite these challenges, to reach what is beyond them.” 

The ceremony ended with RUPD’s Lt. Jamie Hendrix, Commander of the Community Affairs Unit at Rutgers-Newark, urging those who attended to visit one of many tables set by community partners,  such as Big Brothers and Bridges Project Connect, which supports the  homeless. 

She also asked them to donate school supplies–and write thank you notes–to teachers at three city grade schools as part of the RUPD’s Cram the Cruiser Challenge: The Dr. E. Alma Flagg Elementary School, the Luis Muñoz Marin Elementary School and the Michelle Obama Elementary School. 

“We take a moment to focus on our shared humanity,’’ she said. “We hope to keep the spirit of resilience, not only on this day, but on this campus for as long as we are here.’’